Of All the Diamonds in the Rough
by WhovianLord245
Summary: She was the last person fit for the job, and yet she was the only person who could pull it off. A story about a kunoichi who's given the task of raising a shunned boy—but how can she help him when she can barely stand on her own feet? And how is it she became the person she is today? A story about losing it all and learning to pick up the pieces.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any characters involved with the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden Series**

**_Of All the Diamonds in the Rough_**

The Prologue

"Hokage-sama, I don't think you understand what you're asking of me."

"But I do."

The Third Hokage stood at his office window as he stared out at the village, the moon sitting contently in the dark night sky, a shadow looming behind him in the darkness. He kept his hands neatly locked behind his back as he gazed up at the stars, the breeze gently blowing and whispering in his ear. Its voice was quiet and soft, reminding him of the touch of his wife; the thought of her always made him smile.

"_Please_. You need to reconsider."

"I've already made up my mind." Turning around, Hiruzen stared into the darkness, a lean figure hiding in its abyss. "You are the only one left that we know of. He needs you now more than ever if he is to stay on the right path of life."

"…How could I possibly steer him in the right direction when I don't even know which direction that is anymore?" The Hokage smiled as he chuckled quietly, catching his guest off guard.

"You know, my dear. You've always known." And without another word, Hiruzen walked past the figure, stopping as their shoulders brushed.

"…We mustn't let Minato and Kushina's sacrifice be in vain." The Hokage could feel his companion stiffen beside him. "For their sake, you must do as I ask and take care of the young boy."

"…Yes, sir."

* * *

><p><strong>So! I've been wanting to try my hand with this story idea for a while, even before I started writing (I have just recently posted my first story up for the public, and not my school professor to read) and now that I'm actually writing and posting, I figured why not. I was a rather devoted fan to Naruto when it first came out. I will admit, after all the focal points of the series were aired, I fell out of it. Then when Shippuden began, I watched and read the series. The Naruto series is actually one of the only animes I like, the others being Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z (because those were truly just classics). I stopped watching Shippuden, just due to how long it was lasting, but when I heard that the series had ended, I ended up picking up where I had left off in the manga and read until the end. It's actually sort of sad that it's all over now (which is ironic because I used to always complain about how the series was just too long for its own good XD). In honor of the end, I decided to write this story and post it up, just to see how it goes! I'm not sure how many people are actually going to read this, but to those of you who do, I know this is short, but it's just a prologue. I have a nice outline for how this story is going to go, and hopefully you'll stick around to see where it leads!<strong>

**This is not going to be just a love story. This is going to be a story about loss and tragedy and it's going to be a story about what happens after losing the things most precious to you, and about learning to overcome the darkness in your life, which, all who watched and loved Naruto know that is just a common theme in the show! Yes, there is still definitely going to be romance, but there's going to be angsty moments and some funny moments...this will have a lot! The reason I'm explaining this all now is because, yes, this is a short chapter, so I feel whoever is reading this deserves at least a run-down as to how this story may go! Yes, it's eventually going to be a KakashiXOC story because he truly is one of the best characters in the series! And there can never be too many stories about him, OC or not!**

**Also, just to let you readers know, this story is going to be rated T, but there will be chapters that are rated M. I will have a disclaimer at the top of the chapters that will need rating changes. For now, it won't be an issue! **

**So, anyways, if you are interested, please stick around and I can only hope you'll enjoy! If not, thanks for reading anyways! Sorry I rambled on so long! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

**Part I: The Prelude**

_Chapter One_

_During the era of war and unrest, our sealing jutsu abilities were greatly feared. So we were targeted and destroyed. The survivors fled and hid themselves throughout the other lands._

_The Hidden Eddy Village._

_The Uzumaki Clan._

§

She was exhausted.

Never had she run so far and so fast before, but she couldn't stop. There was no time to catch her breath and there was no time for her to try and rest. The only thing she could do was run—run as far as her weary feet could carry her; her life depended on it.

Voices screamed out through the still of the night as the young girl nearly tripped over herself. She quickly regained her footing and continued to sprint through the thick of the forest. A sharp pain shot through her cheek as a branch scratched her face, but she paid no attention to it as she pushed through the leaves and bushes. The night was young, and yet it had felt like years since the last time she had stopped to catch her breath. The one thing that still motivated her to keep going was the heavy footsteps behind her and the voices screaming at her.

She was terrified.

With the last burst of energy she had, the runaway pushed herself, jumping over a fallen tree and landing on her feet. She winced and cried out before she fell to her knees, her body reaching its limit. Her pants echoed in the night as she trembled, no longer having the strength to continue; this was it for her.

The voices began to crowd around her as her head hung low, her eyes squeezed shut. Laughter resonated through the broken silence as hands roughly grabbed her by her arms, dragging her through the dirt. Her head began to spin as the voices began to drift, darkness swallowing her whole.

*_Fifteen Months Later_*

"Hokage-sama, here is my report." A man in a porcelain dog mask stood before his leader, holding the scroll out to him. The Third Hokage nodded as he opened the scroll and read through the report quickly and efficiently.

He had sent four of his personal ANBU members to track the actions of a few, stray Iwagakure ninja that had been spotted just near the border of the land. Although their behavior had been innocent enough, with the war still raging on and with the shinobi being so close to their territory, Hiruzen had found it necessary to have at least someone watch the enemy carefully; he was tired of making mistakes.

As the leader of the leaf read through the report, his eyes widened as he stopped, re-reading a sentence that had caught his attention.

_Secret weapon_.

"What did you make of this weapon?"

"We could not see it directly, sir," the ANBU captain explained as he bowed his head in shame. "I'm afraid whatever they were carrying was concealed in a wooden barrel. It was sealed shut with a powerful jutsu as well. There was no time nor was there any way we could obtain it."

"And you are certain that it was some sort of weapon to be used against us?"

"That I am sure of." There was no doubt in the shinobi's mind; he had heard them talking about it.

This was dangerous. The Leaf Village was in no shape to undergo any type of attack, and his ninja were already weary from the constant battling. Things had been going relatively well after the Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed thoroughly by Minato's team, but it was no time to rejoice. Not when there was a secret that the Village Hidden in the Stones had.

"…Bring me Minato immediately."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

He had been extremely tired that night.

Minato rarely got any sleep these days, what, with the great war and the loss of his second team member, he was up to his knees with things to finish; he didn't have much time to grieve. He had woken up early that morning to fill out more paperwork about what had happened between the Kirigakure ninja and Rin. It had been a bit difficult for him to do at first, for Rin had been a kind-hearted young girl. He had admired her kindness and had really enjoyed her warm presence, and now? Now he was left with nothing but the memory.

And Kakashi had been plagued with nothing but nightmares.

Minato was still Kakashi's leader—even if it was now just a one-man team. He was still trying to figure out the best way to reach his student. He was unsure of how to go about it; he'd never been much of an overly emotional person. Even still, he wanted to help Kakashi, because with each passing day, he could see a darkness eating away at the young boy. He was only 10 years old, after all; no kid his age should live the life he had.

As the young man contemplated to himself, he walked into his home, stopping and smiling at the sight of his wife lying peacefully on the couch. He took a few moments to stare at her, drinking in the way her face seemed to glow in the moonlight and the way her hair fell over her shoulders; he had always loved that hair of hers.

"Kushina." Said woman grumbled as she rolled in the opposite direction of Minato, her husband chuckling as he gently grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her. "Kushina," he tried once more as the woman slowly began to emerge from her state of sleep. She blinked several times before she smiled up at the blond.

"Welcome home."

"Ah."

Helping her to her feet, Minato smiled as they began to walk over to the kitchen table, a plate of food wrapped up and waiting for the Yellow Flash. Kushina watched with a pleasant smile as the man across from her ate enthusiastically; it had been a long day with barely anything to eat.

"So—" Before the redheaded woman could ask Minato how his day was, a shadow appeared at their door, bowing out of respect. The pair blinked before Minato stood to his feet, wiping his lips.

"Captain."

"Minato-san." The masked man stepped out of the shadows as he stood tall, Minato nodding. "The Hokage would like to see you. It's of an urgent matter."

Without hesitation, the Yellow Flash nodded as he glanced at Kushina, who tried not to frown; whatever it was, it must have been serious. No longer feeling tired, the jonin turned to his wife, the ANBU captain gone within a blink of an eye. A smile etched itself across Minato's lips as Kushina returned the gesture with her own.

"I'll be back."

"Right." The jinchuriki watched as her husband grabbed his kunai pack, slipping his sandals on and disappearing. She stood in the wake of his departure, holding her hand to her chest as she frowned.

"Be careful."

§

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama."

"Ah, Minato." The aging man stood to his feet as his former student's student walked into his office with a serious expression on his face. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course, sir."

"I'm afraid I've received grave news from a team of scouts I sent out," Hiruzen began as he stared out the long window of his office with a grimace. "They have discovered that Iwagakure has gotten their hands on a secret weapon." That had surprised Minato.

"What type of weapon?"

"We are unsure. That is why I have called upon you." Turning to face the jonin, the Hokage held out a scroll to him. He watched carefully as the young man nodded, taking the scroll and opening it. Reading through silently, Minato glanced up at his leader, the man smiling to him.

"I have great faith that you will complete this mission without trouble."

"I will do my best, sir."

With a bow, Minato turned and walked out of the room, leaving Hiruzen to himself. The Hokage sighed as he took a seat at his desk, glancing at the door in which Minato had exited from.

This was his final test. Completely this would only assure Hiruzen that he was ready for the next stage in his life.

_Yondaime._

§

The brisk, morning breeze blew past four ninja as they sat in the cover of a dank and dim cave. The sun began to rise from the horizon as a lone man sat by the dying fire, his eyes fluttering shut and then snapping open every few seconds.

"Oi, Takashi! What the hell kind of watch is that?" Said jonin jumped as he quickly rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes, his teammate glaring down at him with a displeased frown.

"I wasn't sleeping."

"Shut up." Taking a seat next to Takashi, Kenichi sighed as he rubbed his neck.

"How's the package?"

"Just the same as it was last night." The pair glanced over at the wooden barrel, not a peep coming from it. They smirked before they stood to their feet, Takashi walking over to the slumbering pair ninja.

"Hey. Get up. We've got to get moving." Kicking his teammate in the side, Takashi watched as the young woman groaned before swatting his foot away.

"Don't you know that's not how you treat a lady?"

"Where's this lady you speak of?" Kenichi called out from a distance as his teammate laughed, the woman slowly sitting up before she glared, punching Takashi in his knee.

"Ah—Keita!"

"That's what you get, bastard." Standing to her feet, Keita brushed the dirt from her red clothes, straightening out her forehead protector. She brushed her fingers through her dark purple hair before she smirked, walking over to the barrel and picking it up by the straps.

"Kisuke! Get your lazy ass up! It's your turn to carry this thing." The last member of the team glared as he stood up from his sleeping position; he was still fairly tired.

"I heard you, I heard you," he snapped in return as he stood to his feet.

As the youngest of the four reached for the barrel, they all stiffened, a kunai suddenly flying through the air. Just barely missing Kisuke's face, the tip of the weapon embedded itself into the dirt right beside the barrel. With wide eyes, the four turned to the entrance of the cave, a shadow standing before them.

"You're venturing close to the border, I see."

"Who the hell are you?" Keita shouted out as she quickly pulled out a sword from behind her back, the leader of the group quickly holding his arm out.

"Hold on, Keita," Kenichi said, surprising the young woman.

"What—"

"You!" Kenichi called out to the tall figure. "State your name."

"…Minato Namikaze." And that was when the color had drained from their faces.

News of the Yellow Flash had traveled quickly after the incident of Kannabi Bridge, and even before that time, he had been known all through the lands. He was renown for his speed and accuracy, and not many lived to tell the tale of their experience with the man. That was why Kenichi had taken charge; he had had a bad feeling in his gut from the get-go.

"We mean no trouble."

"Then what's this I hear about a secret weapon?" Kenichi's eyes widened as he stiffened, Minato narrowing his eyes at the ninja; so the truth had been discovered.

"Kenichi…" Takashi whispered apprehensively as said ninja gritted his teeth. He quickly let his hand fall to his side as he gave Keita a side glance. He nodded his head as the purple haired woman smirked, suddenly running forward with her sword ready.

"This blade will be the last thing you ever see!"

Minato could tell she was young; they were all young. Though he was young himself, these ninja couldn't be older than 16 or 17; that was far too young to die. Saying nothing, the Yellow Flash glanced at his kunai he had thrown before he disappeared before Keita's eyes. The woman stumbled a few steps but caught herself, blinking as she quickly turned around; he truly was a fast as the speed of light.

"Kisuke!" Said young man blinked before he quickly looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening with fear and awe as the leaf jonin stood behind him soundlessly. Before he could react, Minato used the bottom of his foot and kicked the boy back, Kisuke hitting the ground and coughing; that had been a bit painful.

Slipping his arms into the straps holding the barrel, Minato stared at the Iwagakure ninja with a gentle stare. They all hesitated as he smiled at them before nodding. And then, he disappeared once more, leaving the four shinobi in silence.

"…Kenichi?" Takashi muttered as the leader of the four trembled. He stared at the spot in which the Yellow Flash had been standing, as he narrowed his eyes; he had never planned to kill them in the first place.

"…Without that barrel, the war really is over," Kenichi said as he sighed, scratching the back of his head. For some reason, he couldn't seem to make himself feel more disappointed.

For losing to a man like Minato Namikaze didn't seem so bad.

§

Setting the wooden carrier on the ground carefully, Minato stared at it for a few seconds. He narrowed his bright blue eyes before he pulled out his kunai, digging the tip into the top of the barrel in order to wedge it open. He pushed for a few seconds before the top began to pop. Tucking his kunai back into his pouch, the blond began to tug the lid off with his hands before it came completely off with a squeak. Not wasting a single second, the jonin leaned over the barrel.

"Wh—What?" His eyes widened as he gapped, his breathing hitching.

Inside the barrel was a little girl.

* * *

><p><strong>Here is the first, official chapter! Just to clarify, just in case it is a bit confusing, the prologue is several years after this first chapter. This part of the story will be taking place before the Kyuubi attack and, obviously, during the time that Kakashi Gaiden takes place. I've look a lot into the timeline of the past and I've tried to make sure to keep everything in chronological order and to make everything as accurate as possible with the series itself. Of course, there may be changes that I make, putting a spin of my own, and hopefully you will all enjoy that! <strong>

**Thank you to everyone who has decided to read this and give this story a chance. I'm not sure when the next update will be, but hopefully it will be soon! Thank you for reading, thank you for following and thank you for even favoriting :) I will make sure to work hard in order to meet and go beyond everyone's expectations. If you end up not enjoying this story, I'm sorry and I hope that you may end up liking it more in the future. And if not, I respect that! Thanks for giving this a try at all! **

**Reviews:**

**helenGet: **Hello! Yes I will definitely be continuing! Not sure when I'll update next, but hopefully it will be soon. Thank you for reading! And thank you for taking the time to review! I hope you read more chapters and I hope you will enjoy them! I'll work my hardest! Thanks again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. I only wish I did! **

_Chapter Two_

A week had passed since Minato had left for his mission, and in that time Kushina had made sure to distract herself with busy work. These days she rarely went on her own missions, but she didn't mind it. She liked tending to the apartment and she liked being able to welcome her husband when he arrived back from longer missions. So, seven days after Minato had left, the woman had decided to go out and do a bit of grocery shopping.

As she walked through the village, hands full of bags, she couldn't help but smile up at the shining sun in the blue sky—but the smile was merely just a façade; deep down inside, Kushina had a terrible feeling in her gut.

Deciding not to dwell on the strange sense of fear she had, Kushina began to walk ahead, but as she did so, she stopped, noticing a familiar patch of gray hair. Her gaze softened as she stared at a lone boy in the distance, his masked face hiding the empty expression he seemed to be wearing as of late.

"Kakashi-kun!" Said young jonin glanced up before he watched his sensei's wife approach him with a wide smile across her face. He blinked before he bowed his head in respect, Kushina chuckling. "What a nice surprise, seeing you today!"

"Ah, you too." It was half-hearted and hollow, but Kushina didn't expect anything more than that; he was still mourning everything he had lost.

It seemed there were rare days that Kakashi had to enjoy himself lately—not that he really enjoyed anything anymore. But, since he had been given the day off from any missions, he was free to do as he pleased. So, instead of cooping himself inside of his home, the 11 year old decided to visit her grave again.

Rin's grave.

Gazing down at Kakashi with a soft stare, Kushina began to smile as she held her index finger up with an idea. "When Minato comes back from his mission, feel free to come and eat dinner with us!" The ANBU blinked as he looked up at Kushina, the woman's grin nearly contagious. She chuckled to herself as Kakashi hesitated. Before an answer could be made, a figure appeared behind Kushina, catching both of their attention.

Kushina raised a brow before her gaze hardened. "Shikuro."

"Minato-san and Hokaga-sama are waiting for you in the Hokage Residence." Kushina blinked, slightly taken aback by the statement; she hadn't been expecting that. Looking over her shoulder to take one last look at Kakashi, she smiled as the boy stared back at her.

"Think about what I said!" And with that, Kushina was off. Kakashi watched from a distance, noticing quickly the way his sensei's wife's smile disappeared.

What was going on?

§

Kushina's steps echoed through the eerily quiet hall as she tried to come up with some sort of scenario in her head. Minato was waiting with the Sandaime, which meant he was safe. And whether he failed or completed his mission successfully wouldn't have had anything to do with her—so that couldn't be the reason as to why she was being summoned. So then, what was it? She couldn't seem to figure it out. And by the silence Shikuro gave off as he walked in front of her, she knew that he would be giving her no answers.

Opening the door for her, Shikuro let Kushina walk by before he bowed to the Hokage, walking out and shutting the door quietly as he left. The redheaded woman glanced back for a moment at the shut door before she turned her attention to her village leader. She quickly bowed before standing up tall with a smile.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked as Hiruzen nodded, glancing at Minato.

"There is something you need to see." That had caused the woman to feel uneasy.

"What is it?"

"Kushina," Minato began as he smiled; the news he had to tell her was not bad news, yet it wasn't quite good news either. "There's someone you need to meet." The woman blinked as she raised a brow before the door to the Hokage's office opened. The three looked and watched as two ANBU members walked in, a tiny shadow hiding behind them.

"What—"

"A few months ago, I had heard that Iwagakure ninja had gotten their hands on a secret weapon. Since the destruction of Kannabi Bridge, the war has turned in our favor, and in a desperate attempt to change the tides, they had come across her." Kushina's eyes widened as the two ANBU shinobi stepped aside, revealing a young girl. The Third turned to Minato as he continued the explanation.

"I was sent to apprehend the weapon and make sure no trouble came from the rock ninja," Minato explained gently as Kushina trembled, her light onyx eyes gazing into a pair of bright amethyst eyes. "She was sealed in a wooden barrel. They must have traveled great lengths in order to capture her."

"Wh—Who is she?"

"We don't know. But the reason I thought you should be here and know this information is because..." Minato stepped forward towards the child as he knelt down in order to sit at eye-level with her. He motioned for her to turn around, and hesitantly, the young girl did as told. Kushina's world froze as her eyes widened, the crest on the back of the girl's dirty and torn shirt causing her voice to crack.

"O—Oh my god…" The crest on the girl's shirt was the crest of her own clan.

"Although your village is no longer existent, there are survivors that are scattered across the lands. It seemed that the Iwagakure shinobi were planning to use her sealing abilities and her chakra against us," Hiruzen explained gently as the girl turned back around, staring up at Kushina with a stale gaze. Kushina stared back at her with a more astonished stare, never once breaking eye contact with the young girl.

"…What's her name?"

"That's the problem." Minato frowned before he turned back to the girl with a sweet smile. She glanced at him as she tried not to frown, the jonin waiting patiently as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder in a way to show her comfort. Kushina watched intently as the little child hesitantly opened her mouth, sticking out her tongue; the woman was shocked.

"Th—That's—" Upon the girl's tongue was a seal mark.

"She performed a sealing jutsu on herself. She can't speak at all, even if she wanted to—nothing will come out," Minato explained quietly before he smiled down at the girl and stood to his feet.

She couldn't have been any older than perhaps six or seven, and yet this little girl had the strength to perform a sealing jutsu so intricate and so strong on herself? Kushina couldn't find the right words to describe how she was feeling. All she could do was stare down at the little Uzumaki, the young stranger staring back up at her.

"And she won't release the seal?" Minato shook his head at his wife's question as he sighed.

"She's still a bit fragile and confused. I think she thinks we're the enemy, and no matter how hard I try to convince her that we're not, she still refuses to even acknowledge our requests," the blond explained as Kushina glanced down at the girl; she understood why she had been summoned.

"Hello there." Kushina knelt down as she held her hand out to the young girl. She smiled widely as the little girl watched with a raised brow. "My name is Kushina Uzumaki." That had caught the former prisoner's full attention.

"…You and I, we're a lot alike, you know?" The little girl shrugged into her shoulders, as if she was trying to hide from the world. Kushina's gaze softened as her smile brightened. She gently grabbed the girl's hand and placed it in her own as she shook it. "It's really nice to meet you." The married woman watched carefully as the little girl slowly began to shake her hand before bowing her head down low; it seemed she had issues with authority figures.

Trying not to frown, Kushina pulled her hand away from the girl's as she placed them on her shoulders. "Do you mind if I release your jutsu? I'd really like to know your name." The girl gave no reply as she merely stared before taking a step away. Minato watched carefully as the little girl stared at Kushina's eyes; there was a gleam she had never seen before.

Kindness.

Blinking, the jinchuriki watched carefully as the little girl created hand signs before opening her mouth. The ink on her tongue began to fade as she began to cough, nearly falling over. She would have hit the ground had it not been for Kushina's quick reflexes. The woman quickly reached out and caught the girl as Minato jerked forward but relaxed. He watched as his wife held the girl safely in her arms, closing her eyes and rubbing her back.

"There, there. It's alright. You're safe." The young girl quivered in Kushina's arms as she kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

It had been a long time since she had felt the warmth of another. She couldn't even remember what another person's touch had felt like. The only thing she really knew was the walls of the barrel she had been stuck in. It was almost a bit overwhelming for her, but she tried to take it all in strides. Because, even though she didn't trust these people, they were still kind to her. And that had been more than what those other ninja had been like. Even if it was all a trick—just for a few seconds, she wanted to believe in the safety of this woman's arms and the gentleness of the man who had released her from her prison.

"Can you tell me your name?" Kushina asked as the little girl stared up at her with puppy-like eyes. She blinked before she gasped and shook her head, hiding herself in Kushina's chest. The red headed woman blinked before she chuckled, patting her softly on the head. "That's alright. We can wait." Looking up at the Hokage and Minato, she gave them a serious stare; she was going to make them wait until the girl was comfortable to get their answers.

Chuckling, Minato looked back at Hiruzen, the Hokage smiling as he nodded. "For the time being we'll place the girl—"

"Wait!" Kushina scooped the trembling stranger into her arms with ease as she stood to her feet. She looked back at the Third and Minato as they blinked, waiting curiously for the kunoichi to speak. "Instead of placing her under the care of the ANBU, we can take her, right, Minato?" Said man was unsure whether his wife was _actually_ asking him or using a rhetorical question. Either way, he didn't want to risk his own safety, so he merely smiled weakly as he nodded; they had room for the young girl anyways.

Hiruzen hesitated as he glanced at the young girl. Though she looked harmless, there had been a reason why the Iwagakure hidden village sought her out. Just by standing in the same room with her, the Third could feel the enormous amount of chakra she held in that tiny body; she was much like Kushina in that way. But, the little girl had been clearly held against her will—she'd even gone as far as to seal her own lips and voice in order to keep from helping those who had captured her in the first place. So he knew she held no loyalty to them.

For the girl's safety, the Hokage had planned to put her with his best and most personal ANBU members, but as he stared into Kushina's pleading eyes and glanced over at Minato's patient smile, he had second-guessed himself; perhaps the girl needed—not protection, but stability and affection.

"If she is to stay with you then there must be someone with her at all times. I also want a weekly report of her condition." Kushina's face lit up as Minato let a sigh of relief slip past his lips; he knew his wife well enough to know she wouldn't have settled for anything other than yes.

"And if she decides to tell you anything…" Kushina and Minato glanced at each other before they nodded, the Hokage smiling.

"Then she is yours for now. Thank you for your hard work."

"Ah, thank you, Sandaime!"

With the young girl still in her arms, Kushina and Minato walked out, leaving the Hokage and his two ninja in the room. Hiruzen stared after them for a moment before he smiled to himself and sat down; this would be a good turning point for everyone.

§

She had fallen asleep with ease as Kushina carried her back to her home. She didn't mind though; after everything she must have been through, the jinchuriki understood that she needed a bit of rest.

Walking into their apartment, Minato flipped the light switch and watched as Kushina walked into the spare bedroom; the sun was already beginning to set. He slipped his sandals off as he unzipped his vest, sliding it off and hanging it on the back of the kitchen chair. He then ventured towards the open door to the bedroom, watching as his wife gently tucked the sleeping child into the sheets. His gaze softened as he stared at Kushina, a gentle and sweet smile appearing across her lips.

"There. She's fine now," Kushina stated after shutting the bedroom door. She sighed as she took a seat across from Minato at the table, a cup of tea already waiting for her. With a content breath, the young woman sat and sipped her tea, Minato chuckling at her. She glanced up at her husband before she set her cup down, a guilty look coming over her.

"I'm sorry." That had caught Minato off guard.

"Sorry for what, Kushina?" the Namikaze blinked innocently as he watched his wife stare down at her tea.

"I know that it was a rash decision for me to just have her come stay with us…but…" Looking up, Kushina's small and nervous smile touched Minato's soul. "She and I are the same. We're both…and I just couldn't leave her like that."

Reaching his hand across the table, Minato cupped Kushina's as he smiled. "I know. It's alright. You did the right thing, Kushina. And that's one of the things I've always loved about you." The woman blushed before she grinned, squeezing her husband's hand back; he was always so good at making her feel special.

"The truth will come to pass soon enough. And then everything will be alright."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter two is up. And who is to know what will happen next! Like I've said before, I do plan on keeping to the overall timeline of Naruto and I do plan on keeping very important and main events from the series in this story. The extra parts that I write will work around that though, and hopefully everything will all end up melding together nicely! Not a lot has happened yet, and I will be honest and say that the beginning is going to be peaceful and slower. It won't be until further into the story where chapters will be action-packed! So if whoever is reading this can bear with me until then, you won't regret it...I hope! <strong>

**Thank you so much for giving this story a read. Hopefully you have all enjoyed. And if not, I'm terribly sorry, and I can only hope that my hard work will pay off and you will end up liking this story more the further you go. I promise you, I definitely have been putting my all into this, so I truly hope it shows! And if there is something you would like me to do or fix, don't hesitate to contact me through any means :) I am very open-minded and I am always looking to grow as a writer. Your advice and critiques are what I need to do that!**

**Reviews:**

**BROTH3R MENACE: **Hello! And thank you very much for your kind words :D More will definitely be coming, and I truly do hope that you will read and enjoy what is posted! I will work my hardest!

**earendil18: **Hi there! First off, thank you for reading! And second, Kushina is listed just because I believe she plays a large role in this story. I would have listed Minato as well, but I'm afraid the website wouldn't let me :\ If you continue to read, you will find she is a significant character to the story, and that is why I listed her! Just like Naruto and Kakashi shall both play significant roles as well! Please, if you have anything else you would like to ask or know, don't hesitate to ask :) Thank you for reading!

**NaruHina Fan****: **Well, hi! I would like to start by saying I am also a Naru/Hina fan! I was never much a fan of Naru/Saku. I personally get irritated by Sakura's character, although I will say her growth is obvious and great in Naruto Shippuden! Anyways, I'm glad you have enjoyed what I have posted so far! He hasn't been fully integrated into this story yet, but that is definitely coming up shortly, so just hang in there! Thank you so much for reading and leaving a review! And I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Vmorales: **Hello there, and I would like to say thank you! I'm so genuinely glad to see that you have liked the first two chapters thus far, and I hope that you will only continue to enjoy the future posts! Hopefully it'll be to your taste and hopefully my efforts will show in the planning of the story and the writing! Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Three_

*_One Months Later_*

It was dawn. The sun was beginning to rise as the colors of orange and pink and blue began to meld together in the sky. A few white clouds floated through the air as birds began to chirp, starting the day off with a song.

A quick figure leaped through the trees before it landed gracefully on the ground. The stranger approached the bridge over a small creek and knelt down. A sigh resounded in the still of the morning before a nimble hand extended out to the water, dropping bread crumbs into the water. Suddenly a small flock of baby ducks began to gather, eating away at the food. Although she had been warned not to do that—for it was a bad habit to teach to the animals—she enjoyed keeping the babies company as they ate the food she provided.

Every morning was always the same for her. He had no idea who she was or what she was doing, but every early morning he found her sitting on that bridge feeding the same baby ducks. She would sit there for at least five minutes before standing up and leaping away. And the habit never changed. He'd been observing her for two weeks now. At first, it had been by coincidence. But then he kept running into her. And after that, he awoke every morning just to make sure he didn't miss her.

Kakashi had been visiting Rin's grave as he always did. He made sure to stop by at least once a day—if not twice. There were a lot of things he needed to get off his chest, and although it would never feel as if he was talking to her, the closest he would get was visiting her grave and telling her everything there. The fateful morning he had seen her, Kakashi had been running a bit late. His nightmare had eaten away at him longer than it usually did, and when he awoke, the sun was already rising in the sky. Quickly washing up, he changed out of his night clothes and into his normal attire before he was out the door. He kept his usual paced walk although he was late, not minding; as long as he got there it would be fine.

As he approached the bridge he normally used to cross the creek and enter the cemetery, he stopped as a foreign figure sat at the edge of the bridge. He blinked as he raised a brow; he was not in the mood for strangers. As he took a few more steps closer, he stopped and evaluated the stranger.

She had olive toned skin with longer burgundy colored hair that cascaded down her back. She left it untamed as it hung over the side of her face, blocking her profile from Kakashi's view. Even still, he could tell from just the size of her body that she was young. Her hands were small and fragile looking, yet they were calloused and stiff; as she dropped bread crumbs into the water, Kakashi couldn't help but notice that about her hands. He raised a curious brow at that before the girl stood to her feet and dusted her dark brown shorts off, straightening out her zip-up white shirt. Without a second to waste, the girl was gone, leaping through the air from branch-to-branch.

And although Kakashi hadn't wasted anymore time after that to get to Rin's resting place, he had been sure to glance in the direction the stranger had gone off to before he crossed the bridge.

For the next week, he'd see her. He didn't dare speak to her, and he didn't dare make himself known. He merely watched out of curiosity as she fed the ducks. He was puzzled; what was so charming about feeding them every morning? It was truly confusing to him. But, it was something a bit refreshing to see out of his life. Although he couldn't see her face properly, he didn't mind. It was just nice knowing that there was still a sense of innocence and naivety in people still.

That was something he had lost long ago.

Kakashi stood from a distance as he did every morning, watching as this strange girl fed the ducks like she always did. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the tree, and as he waited for her to leap away as she always did, she surprised him. Standing to her feet, she stood up and glanced up at the sky. Her hair fell from her face before she slowly looked over in Kakashi's direction, meeting his visible eye. He tensed as his eye widened, the young girl staring at him with a curious glimmer in her purple hued eyes before she turned and jumped away.

He was stunned. How had she known he was there? And how long had she known for? Although he wasn't doing anything wrong nor inappropriate, it was a bit embarrassing; and Kakashi Hatake _hated_ being embarrassed. And yet she had done it so easily to him. And unmeaning to as well.

Scoffing, Kakashi quickly crossed the bridge as he rolled his eye, shaking his head. He stopped at the end of the bridge as he looked back in the girl's direction as he blinked.

It was at that moment he realized just how empty her eyes had been.

§

Silently landing on the veranda, the little burgundy haired girl opened the sliding door before she slipped into the apartment, carefully slipping her shoes off and placing them at the front door. She sighed before she released a yelp, a suddenly hand on her shoulder.

"Neko-chan?"

In the time that the young girl had spent with Kushina and Minato, she hadn't said a word. Although she had released the seal on herself, she still didn't speak. She merely made sounds and yips, but never once had she ever said anything. They still hadn't even figured out her real name. There were only several things that they knew about her.

One: her favorite color was turquoise. Two: she hated carrots. And three: she loved animals.

Although it had taken time to figure all of these things out without words, Minato and Kushina had been savvy enough to get at least that much out of her in the end.

"Neko-chan?" And out of all the animals, cats were the little girl's favorite; hence, the substitute name.

Minato raised a brow as he stared down at the young Uzumaki as she blinked innocently up at him. He frowned as the young girl merely smiled before she walked past him, opening the fridge and setting a wrapped plate of food on the table for him.

He had just returned from a rather long and important meeting with the Fire Lord, and he had been up all night signing papers. Now that he was the Fourth Hokage, he had to use his time wisely and all of his time. And although he had been given the option of living in the Hokage Residence, he had decided to turn the offer down. After all, the Third was still living there himself and he had no use for it; he had a perfectly usable apartment already.

Smiling, Minato sat at the table as he began to eat, the little girl watching him with a small smile. He glanced up as he raised a brow. "What are you doing up so early?" he inquired curiously as the little girl stared at him before she hopped off her seat, walking over to the kitchen sink and grabbing him a glass of water. He laughed weakly as she handed him the cup, ignoring his question completely. Then again, it wasn't hard for her to do that since she never spoke to begin with.

Nodding a thanks for the water, Minato continued to eat, realizing just how famished he was. After a few minutes, the door to his bedroom opened, Kushina walking out as she yawned. She blinked before a wide smile appeared across her lips. "Minato! You're back."

"Mmhmm," he replied back with a mouthful of food, Kushina chuckling at him. She took a seat beside the young Uzumaki as she smiled.

"I see you're up early again, Neko-chan." Said child nodded as she hopped off of her seat once again before she slipped her sandals on and turned to the couple. They blinked as they watched her before she bowed and walked out the door.

"…Where is she going?" Kushina asked as Minato sighed and shook his head.

"If only I knew."

§

It had been a few days since Kakashi's last mission, so he had been somewhat relieved when Minato-sensei had called for him; it was a good distraction from all the demons in his mind. As he walked into his former sensei's office, Kakashi noticed the man flipping through a file. He raised a brow as he shut the door, gaining the Fourth's attention.

"Ah, Kakashi! Good to see you."

"Yondaime." He may have been his teacher, but now he was the Hokage.

Minato chuckled as he motioned for Kakashi to approach his desk as he held out a file to him. "I have a special mission for you today," he began as the jonin took the file and flipped it open.

His eye widened when it fell upon the picture.

"There's something I need to inform you of, Kakashi," Minato started as he locked his hands together. "Towards the end of the Third Shinobi War, Iwagakure had grown desperate. After Kannabi Bridge—" Kakashi tried not to flinch at the memory. "—the war had turned in our favor and we had gained the upper hand. As a last ditch effort, the ninja of Iwagakure had come across a secret weapon."

"…Do you mean this girl?" Kakashi asked incredulously as he glanced down at the photo of the familiar face. "Who is she?"

"She comes from a country that had once been known as the Land of Eddies. That was where Kushina was originally from," Minato began to explain as Kakashi listened carefully. "The Uzumaki clan had been well known for their skills with fuinjutsu as well as great control over chakra." Kakashi nodded as he glanced through what little information had been gathered about the young girl.

"Somehow, the rock ninja were able to apprehend her and were going to try and use her abilities against us. Although they failed, I can only assume they were going to try and take control of the kyuubi." Thankfully, Minato had stopped everything from escalating; the war could have ended terribly for everyone.

"So then, what does this have to do with me?" Kakashi asked, Minato frowning as he looked out the window behind him.

"After we found her, we discovered that she had placed a seal on herself, preventing her from talking. Even though the seal has been released, she still hasn't said a word. We haven't even figured out her real name yet." The younger jonin's eyes widened at that. "Seeing as she doesn't say much, it's a bit difficult to know what she's thinking," Minato stated with a laugh as he looked back at Kakashi.

"That's why I need your help."

"My help?"

"You see, since she's been living here in the village, she's been staying with Kushina and I. We've made sure to treat her well and there were condition with the Third we made sure to keep, but since she's grown more comfortable being here, we've given her a bit more freedom—which Sandaime has approved of," the blond explained as he looked up at his former student. "Since I've been rather busy these days, I've been home later, and I've started to notice that she's been getting up early in the morning and venturing off somewhere."

And then, Kakashi realized it.

"For her own safety and the safety of the village—"

"It's nothing dangerous." Minato blinked as Kakashi interrupted him. He watched as the young boy acted…well, as exactly that; a young boy. He cleared his throat as he scratched the bridge of his nose in an almost innocent manner; Minato had never seen Kakashi like that before. "She goes to feed the ducks every morning."

The ducks?

Minato laughed at that as he shook his head; and he had been worried for nothing, it seemed. "How do you know?"

Trying to ignore the sly grin across his sensei's face, Kakashi glared at him as he answered. "I see her every morning when I go—" Kakashi stopped as he stared down to the ground, all playfulness gone. Minato's expression shifted as he gave the boy a solemn stare.

"…Well! Your mission still stands." Kakashi blinked as he looked up at Yondaime with a wide-eyed stare.

"But—"

"I need you to do this job and do it well," Minato said as Kakashi tried not to frown; the last thing he wanted to do was baby-sit some kid.

Minato watched as his student begrudgingly accepted his mission, holding on to the file as he marched out with a grumble. It had been a long time since the Yellow Flash had seen Kakashi like that. But that was good. He wanted to help Kakashi in some way, because he knew that the young boy was carrying the burden of Obito and Rin alone—and that just wouldn't do. After all, Minato had been their sensei as well. It had been his job to protect them and teach them and mold them into strong shinobi.

Frowning, Minato closed his eyes.

This break would be good for Kakashi.

* * *

><p><strong>Here's to the next chapter! Happy belated Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! Hope it was fun and yummy safe for all :) Now that that's over, I have a bit more free time so I'm here with an update! This chapter was full of Kakashi, so for those who have been waiting for more on him, there you go! I hope he has been written well. My biggest peeve is when characters are not in character, so if anyone at all finds a problem with how I portray any characters, please don't hesitate to tell me! I'll fix it right away! I did my best with what I know about young Kakashi. I have a great grasp on Kakashi in the present, but I'm hoping that I know what I'm doing with younger Kakashi! These early years play an important role in this story and will show a lot of character development, so it's important that I get it right! If I don't, feel free to tell me off ^_^ <strong>

**Thank you to everyone who has given this story a shot. I know there hasn't been much yet, but this story is going to take time to grow. If you don't like that, I'm very sorry! And I understand! I hope you can just bear with me long enough to see what happens next X) I'm not positive as to when my next update will be. I used to update my other story every day, but I've come to find that these days my schedule is all kinds of hectic. I'll update when I can though! Anyways, thank you again for reading, and I do truly hope you find this story enjoyable.**

**Reviews: **

**BROTH3R MENACE: **I'm genuinely glad you think it's going well so far! Please, please, if there is anything you don't like or you think I should change, tell me and I am more than ready to listen :) I take what readers have to say seriously, so anything at all you like or dislike, let me know so I can make this story better! Thank you so much for reading and thank you very much for reviewing! I truly appreciate you doing that.

**love4music55: **I'm glad you like the thought of this story not being _entirely _based on romance. Yes, there will be romance in the story, but I wanted to be able to write something that was just that, but a good and interesting story, I suppose. We'll see how it goes in the future thought LOL only time will tell! Thank you for reading and thank you for reviewing!

**Guest: **Thank you! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoy the way I write and this story thus far. I know we haven't gotten far into anything yet, but we will! Just you wait :D There will be more revealed about my OC soon so hopefully you will tune in when that happens! Thank you so, so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy this and future chapters to come!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any characters associated with Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Four_

She had known all along. Kakashi wasn't a fool. Even though he had done everything correctly and would have been nearly untraceable to other shinobi, this little girl had been able to spot him the moment he had began to tail her.

Four days had passed since Kakashi had began his mission, and if it had been anyone else that had asked him to do such a frivolous job, he would have denied it on the spot. But since it had been Minato-sensei, he had swallowed what was left of his pride and did as told. He had read through the file the Fourth had given him, and he had come to realize that it was nearly useless. The only information that had been somewhat relevant was her age; she was now eight.

Sighing, Kakashi watched from a distance with his black mask covering most of his face as it always did as the young girl walked with a tiny jug of milk in her hand. He rolled his eye before he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following after her.

As ridiculous as the job was for Kakashi, the boy hadn't realized that Minato's plan had worked. He hadn't once thought about his shortcomings nor did he have nightmares for the past three nights. Instead, he spent his days trailing the rather silent but energetic girl and his nights were spent resting; he had early mornings and late evenings, so falling asleep and staying asleep weren't an issue.

Kakashi stopped as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, leaning over the edge of the roof and watching as the young girl knelt down beside a wounded kitten, pouring a bit of milk into a small bowl she had acquired from Kushina's kitchen. He watched with a nearly-amused gleam in his visible eye as he scoffed, the girl smiling down at the cat before glancing up at him. He stiffened but then relaxed as the girl smiled at him; he shouldn't act so surprised anymore.

"Oi! Look at her!" The little girl winced as she felt an empty can hit the back of her head. She rubbed her head in pain as she quickly looked over her shoulder, three boys about two years older than her walking down the alleyway with smirks on their lips. "Hey! Look! She's got our cat!" They must have been the reason why the kitten was so bruised up.

Glaring at the three, the Uzumaki scooped the cat up into her arms as she stood up, the boys laughing at her. She flinched when a pebble was thrown at her face, hitting her in the cheek. Still, she said nothing as she merely glared, the boys blinking before they began to laugh.

"How old are you? And you don't even know how to talk!" They continued to laugh as the young girl merely took a step back, holding the white cat close to her chest. Showing no fear, the young girl went to push past them, but she flinched when one of the boys pushed her to the ground. A surprised yelp escaped her lips as the bullies snickered.

"Look at that! She _does_ make sounds!"

"Lets see what else she does!" Raising a fist into the air, the redhead merely glared defiantly at the three, unafraid of the young boy's attack. She waited, fully ready to accept the blow, but her eyes widened when a sudden shadow appeared before her. She blinked as her jaw fall agape, the three boys crying out in fear.

"Wh—Who are you!" one of the boys stuttered, a masked kid grabbing his friend's wrist with ease and holding it completely still. Though he was only a bit taller than them, the boys knew that they were outmatched—even if it was three to one; his forehead protector said it all.

"Toru, lets get out of here!" Yanking his arm away, the three boys ran around the corner and disappeared, leaving the jonin and the young girl to themselves.

_Meow_. And the kitten.

Slowly, the 12 year old turned and met the younger girl's gaze. He said nothing to her as he merely stared. Just by the way her bottom lip twitched and the muscles of her jaw clenched, Kakashi could tell that she wanted to say something; and yet, nothing came out. The two stared at each other for a few moments longer, the cat-lover blinking innocently before she stood to her feet. She used one hand to wipe her knees as she held gently to the kitten that had nearly fallen asleep in her other arm. She continued to stare, though she couldn't seem to see much past the mask.

"…If you don't speak up, then no one will ever know what you want." The 8 year old blinked as the cloaked boy turned his back to her.

_Whatever the village or anyone else may say, I think you're a great jonin. That's how I really feel._

_Kakashi, you need to know my feelings for you too!_

Kakashi felt his chest clench as he stared out at the street. His hand balled up into a fist from underneath his cloak as he closed his eyes. "It's important to say the things you want to say before it's too late. Bottling it up inside...it only hurts you."

_K—Kakashi…_

Leaping into the air, the masked ninja disappeared, leaving the red head alone with her cat. She stared after him for a moment before she squeezed to the kitten, trembling as she closed her eyes.

§

There was a strange air around her when she had returned home. Kushina and Minato had been unsure of what was wrong, but there was a heaviness that lingered over the young girl as she walked into their apartment and set a white kitten with a patch of gray fur on the floor. The older Uzumaki grinned as she quickly approached the little girl, kneeling down beside the cat to pet its ear.

"How adorable!"

"Where did you find him, Neko-chan?" Minato inquired curiously as he approached his wife's side, leaning down and placing his hands on his hips. The girl said nothing as she merely stared at the cat with a deep grimace on her lips. Kushina glanced at her husband as the man tried to conceal his frown.

"Have you named him yet?" Kushina asked, the man beside her blinking.

"You're not thinking of keeping him, are you?"

"Well, why not? He's just a kitten, after all."

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea, Kushina." Minato had always been a rather meticulous type of person. His wife rolled her eyes as she gave her husband an irritated stare.

"What would it hurt? I think he'd be a nice addition to this place!"

"But—"

"Umm…" Kushina and Minato froze at the sound of a soft and shaky voice. They slowly looked to the young girl as she trembled but stared up at them with a firm gaze. "I—If it's alright with you…I…" Taking a deep breath, the young girl continued with a new found sense of confidence.

"I would like to keep him!" Minato stared with wide eyes as Kushina blushed before a wide smile crept across her lips. She laughed happily as she wrapped her arms around the 8 year old, swinging her about as the kitten merely watched with fascination; humans were truly interesting creatures.

"Yes! Yes! We can keep him! If that's what you want, then we can keep him!" Kushina cheered as she carefully set the girl on her feet before looking at Minato, who laughed and knelt down on one knee. He placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder as she looked at him hesitantly.

"If that's what you want, then there's no problem." The little girl watched as Minato and Kushina walked back into the kitchen, Kushina holding the kitten in her arms.

"So then, what should we name him?" the woman asked curiously as Minato thought.

"Hmm…is naming a cat similar to naming a child?"

"I'm not sure if that's _quite_ the same."

"Umm…one more thing!" The two adults blinked as they looked back at the young girl before she looked up at them through her tears. Their smiles disappeared as they watched the little child cry as she tried to smile. "My name is Karibi Uzumaki, and I wanted to say…I wanted to say…" she choked on a sob as she wiped her waterfall of tears with the back of her hand.

"I wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for me!"

Kushina blinked as she stared down at this child—at Karibi—and she gave the girl a tearful smile as she gently set the kitten on the floor, wrapping her arms warmly around her figure. "There's no need to thank us, Karibi." The girl sobbed as she hugged Kushina tightly, Minato watching with a fond sort of smile. He relaxed as he approached the pair before placing his hand on top of Karibi's head with the same warm smile he had given the day he had first met her.

Karibi grinned through her tears as she relaxed in Kushina's arm. She glanced down at her new cat as she looked up at Minato.

"Lets name our new cat Kushito!" That had caught both of their attention. "It's Kushina and Minato put together!" The pair of adults blinked before they began to laugh, the wife of the Hokage standing to her feet before she sighed and nodded.

"Kushito it is!"

* * *

><p><strong>Finally, her name is revealed! More about Karibi will be revealed when the right occasion arises. And there was also more Kakashi in this chapter as well, which is always a great thing ;) Things will gradually begin to pick up from this point on! So hopefully for those who want to know more, you can bear with this story! <strong>

**Thanks to everyone who has been giving this story a chance! I've truly put a lot of effort into this and I hope it shows in the writing and such. I will do my best to update frequently. I can't say for sure when the next update will be, but I predict that it will (hopefully) be in the next few days. My schedule has somehow gotten rather busy suddenly, so I'm trying to manage everything I have to do with writing as well, and another story that I am working on currently too. But like I said, the next update will be soon, and I will work hard for whoever is reading this! Thank you for reading, thank you for following and favoriting, and I hope whoever is reading this enjoys what I post and future posts to come! **

**Thanks again!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Five_

Kushina smiled widely as she waited outside the academy with a few other parents scattered about. She glanced at the few students that began to pile out before a familiar patch of dark red hair appeared in her line of vision. She grinned as she waved happily.

"Karibi!" Said 8 year old smiled as she ran up to her guardian.

"Kushina-neechan!" Said woman held her hand out to the little girl as a small and nimble hand clasped tightly on to hers.

"So?"

"I did just like you said!" Karibi grinned as she held out her final exam. "I passed!" Kushina blinked, completely caught off guard with the perfect score; this young girl was rather smart for her age.

"Nice job! And just like I promised, riceballs!" Karibi merely grinned as she began to ramble on about her day at school. Kushina nodded as she looked up, her smile disappearing for just a moment.

Karibi was a rather friendly and talkative person at heart, and so three months ago, Kushina and Minato had discussed with the Third about sending her to the academy. It was obvious she had power, and if she already had the skills to perform sealing jutsu, she had somewhat control over her chakra. And although Minato was acting as Hokage now, the couple always sought out the wise man's advice; he always had helpful things to say. After talking for an hour or so, the three had decided that sending Karibi to the academy would be good for her.

But no one had imagined just how well she would excel.

Glancing down at the exam in Karibi's hand, Kushina smiled as the young girl looked up at her. "And Mayuri-sensei told me that if I can pass this next exam then I'll most likely—"

"Become a genin." Kushina nodded as she smiled widely. "That's right!" Karibi grinned to herself as she nodded her head.

"I'm going to do it then!"

"Oh yeah?"

"That's right! I'm going to become a strong ninja, like you and Minato-niichan!" Kushina blinked before she chuckled and nodded her head.

"…I'm going to protect people who don't have others to protect them." The older Uzumaki raised a brow as she looked down at Karibi, the smile wiped clean from her face as she stared off into the distance. "I want to be able to help people who can't help themselves." A warmth began to spread within Kushina as she stopped and turned the young student to her. Karibi blinked as Kushina knelt down in front of her, ignoring the fact that she was getting dirt on her long skirt.

"Then do it." Kushina gave the young girl a reassuring nod. "Train hard and promise me you'll become a strong ninja! For those people and for yourself." Karibi slowly began to grin before she nodded.

"I promise!"

"Good. Now lets eat! I'm starting to get hungry myself!"

*_One Month Later_*

It had been a slow day for Minato. Although days of peace were lingering over the village, there were still things that he needed to take care of; as Hokage, his job was never done.

As he read through a scroll, he paused at the sound of footsteps and his office door opening. He smiled as a familiar patch of gray hair appeared before him. "Ah, Kakashi. It's good to see you."

"You too, Yondaime."

"I have a—" Before the Fourth Hokage could continue, the door to his office slammed open, causing both to jump. The two stared with startled gazes as they looked back, a young girl in brown pants and a white short-sleeved shirt panting and trying to catch her breath.

"Minato-niichan!" Said man blinked once more as he watched Karibi straighten up, completely ignoring the stranger's presence in the room; she was far to excited to notice. "Look!" Holding her hand out, Minato's eyes widened—the sun gleaming off of a metallic plate.

"Is that—"

"I passed! And I passed with one of the highest scores in the class!" Minato blinked as Karibi ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The Hokage laughed before he picked the newly assigned genin up, holding her tightly; pride was swelling within him. So much so he nearly forgot about Kakashi standing just a few feet away.

Kakashi blinked as the scene played out before him. At first, he had been irritated that someone as ignorant as that would just walk in without warning and interrupt the Hokage so abruptly. But when he had realized who it was, he unwillingly ignored his irritation. After all, the young girl had been glowing so brightly in his face. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to scold the girl. So, he merely watched in silence as the redhead leaped into Minato-sensei's arms, holding her new leaf forehead protector in her hand tightly. His gaze softened at the way she grinned; there was still that innocence Kakashi remembered from the first time he had ever laid his eye upon her face.

And in the depths of his mind, he was somewhat relieved.

"What do you think?" Kakashi blinked as a voice pulled him away from his thoughts. He raised a brow as he found Karibi standing before him, her new genin headband tied firmly around her forehead. The jonin said nothing as he stared down at the logo on the plate. He relaxed slightly as the 8 year old smiled up at him before he nodded his head; that had been a good enough response for her.

Spinning around to Minato, Karibi released a content breath. "In celebration, I say we go out to eat for dinner!"

"Only if you're paying," Minato replied back playfully, the guardian laughing at the way the young girl began to pout.

"Hey, if you want, you could come." Kakashi's eye widened as Karibi turned to him with a wide grin. She locked her hands behind her back as Kakashi stared, surprised by her invitation.

A lot had changed about the once silent girl. She had first come off as timid and unresponsive, but now she was full of life and chatty; it was a complete change. And although it had been quite sometime since Kakashi had last seen her, he couldn't forget that time in the alley and what he had said—because he had fully believed in every word he had told her.

And it seemed, Karibi had too.

"I have a mission," Kakashi finally stated as he looked over at Minato, the man blinking before nodding, smiling sheepishly.

"Right."

"Hmm." Karibi looked over at Kakashi for a moment as she frowned.

She hadn't forgotten what he had said to her that day. And she had never forgotten that first day she had seen him at the bridge. Like a magnets, they always seemed to somehow find each other, but never stay for too long; it was such a shame to her. But, she didn't have the time to linger too much on the thought; she was still glowing from passing out of the academy.

"Don't worry. There's always next time!" Kakashi and Minato blinked at that. "I'll be a chunin in no time! And you'll have to celebrate with us then!" Karibi didn't need to get to know the young man. She didn't even need to know his name. The only thing she cared about was that he had been kind enough to help her that day, and she wanted to make sure he knew how much she had appreciated that.

After all, it's important to say the things you want to say before it's too late.

With one quick wave, Karibi was out the door; she still needed to inform Kushina of the good news.

Kakashi and Minato stood in the little girl's wake, still trying to settle from the buzzing. The Fourth Hokage chuckled as he sat back down, shaking his head. Kakashi turned as he looked back to his leader with a curious gaze.

"She's one of the best graduates I've seen from the academy," Minato said as his smile began to fade. "At this rate, she could easily become a chunin, maybe even a jonin, in a year." But that was the problem.

Minato had seen many things. He had experienced many tragedies, and he had lost many loved ones. He had watched as lives crumbled and as the spark in people's eyes disappeared. He had killed and he had nearly been killed. That was the life of a shinobi. That was the price one was to pay. And as his eyes flickered over to Kakashi, he knew. He knew just how true it all was.

For Kakashi was still paying the price.

"You should come along." Kakashi blinked as he gave his sensei an incredulous stare. He smiled at his former student as he held out the mission statement to the young boy. "There's no need to rush this next mission. One dinner wouldn't hurt." Kakashi hesitated before he grabbed the scroll from the Hokage. He stared down at it for a moment as he looked back up at Minato-sensei.

He knew what the man was trying to do. He knew that his sensei felt a string of guilt every time their eyes met. But there was nothing for the blond to be guilty of. He had taught everyone a valuable lesson—Kakashi had just been too stubborn to realize it until it was too late. So, no. There was no reason for Yondaime to feel any sort of sadness for his own stupidity.

Kakashi had been the fool.

"Just think about it." Minato smiled before he turned his attention back to the scroll he had been originally reading. Kakashi stood silently for a moment before he turned and began to walk out of the room. As the door clicked shut, the blond looked back up with a frown.

He wanted to reach out and help Kakashi, but if the young boy didn't ask for help, then Minato couldn't give him any.

§

"Barbeque? It's been a long time since I've eaten barbeque!" Kushina smiled widely as she held tightly to Karibi's hand, the young girl laughing and tugging the woman inside the restaurant.

"That's why I picked here to eat! Now lets go!" Minato chuckled as he watched the two Uzumaki's walk into the restaurant. He followed after them but stopped at the doorway as he looked over his shoulder. He raised a brow as his eyes danced around the busy street; he could have sworn he felt a familiar presence.

"Minato?" Said man looked back forward as Kushina looked at him with a confused expression. "What's wrong." The man smiled as he shook his head, walking inside.

"Nothing."

A shadow from across the street watched from a rooftop as the Fourth Hokage walked into the restaurant. The masked figure stood to his feet as he stared for a second longer.

A part of Kakashi had wanted to join his sensei. He wanted to be able to laugh and smile the way Minato did around Kushina and Karibi. He wanted to be able to_feel_ again. But the darkness that lurked in his mind—it clawed at him and pulled him back. The voice of Rin whispered in his ear, calling his name and echoing in his mind. The insatiable guilt ate away at his soul, and it wouldn't be too long until there was nothing left of Kakashi.

Nothing but his hollow shell.

*_Two Months Later_*

"Minato." Someone was calling his name. "Minato?" It was a familiar voice. "Oh for—Minato!" Said man jumped, sitting up and glancing around. He blinked a few times as his head began to spin for a moment. He yawned after gaining his bearings as he looked over at his wife, the woman wearing nothing but a sheet wrapped around her body.

"Kushina? What is it?"

"It's Karibi." That had completely gained the man's attention.

"What's wrong?"

"She's gone." Minato blinked.

"Gone?"

"I thought I heard footsteps, and when I went to go check, Karibi's door was left open and she's not in there," Kushina said with a worried look on her face. The Fourth Hokage nodded as he began pull on the clothes that had been strewn about. He stopped for a moment as he looked back at his wife for a moment. She stared back at him with a raised brow before he innocently pointed at her.

"You went to check on her in that?" Kushina began to blush as she glared at her husband. He began to laugh as she picked up a pillow and chucked it at him.

"Shut up!"

§

Karibi had always been a morning person. She wasn't sure what it was that got her up so early, but once the sun hit the sky, she was full of energy and ready to go.

And on this special day, she was especially awake.

She had been scheduled to meet with her team that late morning, but seeing as she was already up, she had decided to do a bit of walking before she went to meet them. She strolled up towards the bridge she had gone to feed the ducks and stopped as she sat down at the edge, watching a cluster of grown ducks appeared in the water. She smiled at them as she sighed.

"I'm sorry. I have nothing for you today."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Karibi tensed as she looked up, watching as Minato sat down beside her with a small bag of bread in his hands. Her eyes widened as the man winked at her.

"Just keep this between the two of us." Kushina had always lectured Karibi about feeding the ducks.

Grinning, Karibi crumbled a chunk of bread in her hand as she gently tossed it into the water, watching as the ducks flocked towards the floating specks of food. She smiled to herself before she looked up at Minato, the man in his normal attire with out his robe. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye before he smiled.

"What is it?"

"…What was it like for you?"

"What was what like for me?"

"What was it like for you when you became a chunin?"

And then, Minato had finally realized why Karibi had been up so early.

Smiling, Minato began to reminisce about the days when he had been in the academy and when he had first become a genin and a chunin. He chuckled as he remembered the way he had professed his feelings to Kushina, and the day she had come to cheer him on for the chunin exam; those were all some of his fondest memories.

"I had been training hard with my sensei for a long time before I took the chunin exam," Minato began as Karibi nodded. She looked over at her companion as he broke off a piece of bread and tossed it to a lone duck on the other side of the creek. "Jiraiya-sensei had been really helpfully. He taught me almost everything I know now," the Fourth Hokage stated; that was to be expected from a sanin.

"I want to meet this Jiraiya-sensei one day!" Karibi said with a smile as her guardian nodded his head with a chuckle.

That would be an interesting day.

"It's alright if you're nervous." The genin frowned as she played with the crumbs of bread between her fingers. Minato smiled at her sudden bashfulness as he placed his hand on the top of her head. "I get nervous too."

"But you're the Hokage!" Karibi exclaimed as the man laughed beside her.

"Everyone gets nervous. Especially when it comes to their dreams." For Minato had been dreaming about that moment where he stood before the village for his entire life; it was still a bit surreal to him that it had all come true.

"…I just want to make you and Kushina-neechan proud." Minato's gaze softened as he stared down at the red head. He chuckled as he pulled her close to his side, a blush flushing over Karibi's cheeks.

"We'll be proud whether or not you pass or fail this exam," Minato stated confidently. "As long as you do your best." For that was all that mattered.

"You've been training hard for this, and even Riku-sensei says you've been excelling." Minato had made sure to keep a close relation with the young girl's sensei. Karibi shrugged as she sighed, staring down at her reflection in the water.

"…I just don't want to disappoint anyone." And then, Minato had to wonder; was Karibi's sense of weakness and insecurity related to her relationship with her parents?

"Don't worry." Minato smiled widely as he stood up, holding his hand out to the 8 year old. "You won't be disappointing anyone. Just do your best. And don't give up on yourself." Karibi stared at the man's calloused and dry hand before she grinned and slipped her own into his. He helped the young girl to her feet as she dusted herself off before taking a step towards Minato. Slightly startled, Minato stiffened as Karibi wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes as she leaned into him.

"Thank you, Minato-niichan." Without hesitation, the blond smiled as he hugged the young girl back.

"You're welcome."

§

"Karibi-chan! You're late!"

"Morning, sensei!" The last member of Team 2 quickly ran towards her teammates, Hayase and Hana waving to the girl.

"If you had been any later, we would have had to go to the exam without you," Hana said as she rubbed her cheeks, the red markings on her face making Karibi smile.

"Sorry! I lost track of time!"

"What were you doing, anyways?" the male member of the team inquired curiously as Karibi chuckled weakly, waving his question off.

"Oh, nothing! Alright, sensei! We're ready to go!"

"No second-guessing ourselves, right?" The brown haired woman smirked as each of her genin shook their heads before she nodded. "Good! Then lets get going. I don't expect to see you three until the end of the exam, got it?" She had no failures on her team.

Approaching the academy, Hayase groaned as he shook his head, his spiky black hair moving with the breeze. "Man, and I promised myself I'd never come back here again."

"Don't be a baby, Hayase," Hana said playfully as Karibi smiled up at the school she had once attended just a few months before.

"Alright, you three. This is where we part. Remember, this first part is the written portion of the exam," Riku said as she crossed her arms over her rather busty chest. "Just…make sure to think like ninja, alright?"

"Right!" Riku-sensei smiled fondly at her students before she pulled the three into a hug. She chuckled as Hayase tried to escape the embrace, the two girls of the team rolling their eyes at him.

"Now go on, and make me a proud sensei!" As the three waved back at her, Riku watched with a sigh before she shook her head. She chuckled as she turned and disappeared from the front of the academy.

In no time at all, they would return as chunin.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello to whoever is reading! I'm here with an update! If you notice, there are going to be a lot of time hops and skips. But like I have mentioned before, I've done my best to make sure that everything matches up with the series timeline well. For those who may not know, this goes back from Kakashi Gaiden and through some of the episodes in Shippuden that trace back to Kakashi's past as well as the episodes where Naruto finally really learns about what happened before the Nine-tailed fox attack. Just in case some people may have not seen those episodes, I won't spoil anything by saying much here, but that is the gist of where we are right now in this story. Just wanted to be a bit clearer on that, is all!<strong>

**Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hope that whoever is here has enjoyed it thus far! More is to come, and I truly hope that you all will enjoy what I post! Please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see me fix or if there is something that you like. I am all about taking what readers have to say and really implementing their suggestions and critiques into my story! So if there's anything I should fix, please, don't hesitate to let me know!**

**By next week, I'm hoping to update more frequently. I won't promise anything because I don't want to break a promise. But I thought it would be worth mentioning, I suppose! So hopefully we'll see how well next week goes in my scheduel ^_^; **

**Thank you again for reading, and I hope you like this!**

**Reviews:**

**BROTH3R MENACE: **I'm genuinely happy to hear that you liked that chapter :) And I'm glad that scene was touching to you! I worked especially hard on that scene not to make it over done but still emotional, so I'm glad you enjoyed it! More about Karibi will be seen, especially in the next chapter I post, so you'll learn much more about her soon! Thank you for reading and reviewing. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you're thinking :D Hope you enjoy this and future posts to come!

**Jagged Hearts: **Thank you! I'm relieved that you are enjoying this thus far! More about Karibi's character will be seen soon, especially in the next chapters to come. And I'm glad you like the name too :3 Yes, there are a lot of things going on right now in my life, but I'm doing my best with making sure I get to everything! Thank you for the support, and thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy!

**Gigubowbow: **I'm really happy and flattered that you gave my story a chance! I hope I don't let you down...^_^; I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen LOL And I'm glad that you like how Kakashi and Karibi are together right now. I know they don't interact much, but at this moment they're really just strangers to each other and they know it, and they both have separate things going on in their lives, so I thought it was fitting that their lives don't intertwine much yet. But I'm really happy that you like how they are together so far! :D Thank you for reading this story! And thank you for reviewing! I appreciate you taking the time to do so, and I will make sure to work hard on future chapters I post! Thanks again!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Six_

"…Did you tell them?" A lone boy stood in front of a grave, not bothering to look up. He merely sat in silence for a moment, trying to decide whether he would acknowledge the question with an answer.

"…Kakashi-san, I know you can hear me."

"…What would you do if I did?" The young boy turned back to the burgundy haired girl behind him as he raised a brow. He watched intently as several different emotions rolled through the 9 year old.

"…I wouldn't be upset with you—if that's what you're thinking." Kakashi's eye widened at that as he turned to fully face his companion. "I wouldn't blame you if you did say anything."

"Karibi—"

"So this is her grave?" Changing the subject, the young girl stepped forward, not bothering to meet Kakashi's single gaze. She merely stared down at the name as her gaze softened.

_Rin Koharu._

"Pretty name," she said softly as she knelt down and placed the flower she had been holding in her hand into the stone vase. Kakashi said nothing and merely watched her as she stood back up, closing her eyes in prayer before turning and walking away.

"…I didn't say anything." Karibi's eyes widened as she swiftly twisted around to look at Kakashi. He met her gaze with an unreadable expression as he shook his head. "I haven't told anyone."

"…Thank you."

*_Two Months Before_*

"The remainder of you have all passed the first part of the exam." The written portion had been somewhat difficult, but somehow, 10 teams had successfully gone on to the second part of the test.

And that had included Karibi, Hayase and Hana.

"To announce the second part of the exam will be—"

"That would be me." Everyone's gaze floated towards the voice in the corner of the examination room. The genin watched with shock and a bit of fear as a figured stepped out of the wall, a smirk dancing across the proctor's face.

"Taochi-kun, I have it from here." Said man scoffed as he watched the rather flashy woman completely separate herself from the wall, smirking devilishly at all the remaining students.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Natsuki Uchiha, and I will be your proctor for this upcoming exam." Karibi had heard rumors, but she had never actually met someone of the Uchiha clan. She had read about their abilities and about their Sharingan eye, and she had to say—she was a bit envious of their abilities.

Watching with awe, Karibi's eyes nearly shined as she watched the confident woman smirk and flip her black hair over her shoulder, letting the waves cascade down her back and to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Her dark eyes glanced around the room, evaluating each of the passing genin before her gaze fell on Karibi. The young girl nearly choked under the penetrating gaze before the woman tore her eyes away, smiling cheekily to the students.

"The next part of the chunin exam will take place in the…" she trailed off, wanting to prolong the suspense for as long as she possibly could. "…The Forest of Death." The 28 year old tried not to laugh at the way a chill fell over the room, the color from the genins' faces draining.

"I will notify your team jonin on where and when you are to meet tomorrow. Be sure to be on time," she snapped as she approached Taochi's side. "Whoever shows up late is automatically disqualified." Hana and Hayase immediately glared at Karibi as she smiled weakly to her teammates; she'd have to set her alarm a few minutes earlier.

"Alright then! Congratulations to all of you!" Natsuki clapped her hands together as she and Taochi glanced at one another. "You're all dismissed!"

§

He still had nightmares about Rin. He couldn't seem to move past what had happened.

What he had done to her.

Staring down at his hand, Kakashi waited quietly for Minato, the man now returning from a meeting. The jonin looked over his shoulder as he watched the Fourth walk into the office with a masked ANBU member behind him. The blond said nothing and merely nodded before his loyal shinobi nodded, disappearing as he jumped into the air and out the window.

"Doing well, Kakashi?"

"Yes, Minato-sensei."

Kakashi watched as the man took a seat at his desk before pulling out two scrolls. He glanced from one to another before he smiled, nodding to himself and holding out the red scroll to his former student. The masked young man nodded as he opened the scroll and read through it before a curious gleam began to shine in his eyes.

"This is going to be my next mission?"

"That's right," Minato stated with a smile. "I need someone I trust to give me an unbiased report about the upcoming chunin and their progress. With the treaty between Konohagakure and Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage is going to be coming and attending as a judge for this last part of the chunin exam. I want to show him that we have nothing but strong and aspiring ninja in the leaf," the Hokage stated evenly as Kakashi's gaze softened.

He understood the man's reasoning, but did it have to be him?

"Once that job is done, I'll have a new mission waiting for you," Minato assured as Kakashi simply nodded before he bowed, turning and walking out of the room.

§

Karibi hadn't been able to sleep at all. She was so full of energy and so anxious, sleeping was the last thing that was on her mind.

Tip-toeing out of her room, the young Uzumaki quietly shut her door, but as she did so, the light switched on in the kitchen, making her stiffen. "If you're going to compete in the next part of the chunin exam, you're going to have to do better than that, Karibi." Said girl laughed sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head, Kushina standing in the kitchen with her arms crossed and a knowing look on her face.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"And I thought you were sleeping too," Kushina shot back playfully as Karibi giggled before she approached her guardian. The woman held out a small bowl of the genin's favorite candy before they sat down at the table.

"…You seem antsy," Kushina pointed out as the young girl shrugged, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"I'm just excited."

"…I was like that too when I was your age," Kushina began with a smile. "Always trying to put on a brave face…but in the end, you're just wasting too much time trying to fool everyone into thinking you're something that you're not…rather than doing that, I should have just focused on actually becoming the person I wanted to be." Kushina met Karibi's stunned face as she smiled.

"Don't be so nervous. You've made it this far, which is really something for someone your age," Kushina stated, Karibi relaxing before she began to smile.

"…Thank you, Kushina-neechan."

"Mmhmm." Said woman smiled happily before she leaned over the table, picking out a treat from the young girl's bowl.

"Hey!"

"A ninja should always know how to share."

"I never learned that in the academy." The two laughed before sitting on the couch together, falling asleep as the sun began to rise.

§

"This next part of the exam is simple!" Natsuki marched back-and-forth in front of the line of genin as she held her hands behind her back in a strict and professional manner. "In the middle of the forest there's a scroll. One team protects it, and the other tries to steal it. You can use whatever method you need to in order to steal or stop the other team from stealing." Each of the genin listened carefully to the instruction that were given to them.

"Not only will there be the opposite team to worry about, but there will be several chunin dispatched throughout the forest who will try and take the scroll from you as well." Natsuki hummed at the nervous murmurs that echoed through the silence. "You'll each be given four hours to get or protect the scroll. Whichever team is empty-handed is the loser and will not be moving on to the next and final part of the exam."

Karibi could feel her hands clamming up but she made sure to stay focused; she had come to far to go back now. She glanced at Hayase and Hana as they looked back at, shooting her a small smile before they turned their attention back to the proctor.

"Do any of you have any questions?" As a hand rose into the air, Natsuki clapped her hands, ignoring the genin completely. "That's great! Ok! Teams will be randomly chosen to face one another!" Looking back, Natsuki narrowed her eyes, though she kept her expression the same.

"A fellow jonin will be calling out teams. When your team is called out, make sure you're ready. The Forest of Death waits for no one."

Karibi had been rather calm and collected, but the moment her amethyst eyes met a single dark eye, her composure had nearly cracked.

What was Kakashi doing there?

"The first team that will be up is Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and Kurenai Yuhei." The three leaf shinobi approached Kakashi, the jonin nodding before he glanced over at Kurenai and gave her a lingering gaze. She smiled at him and nodded before Kakashi explained their role in the exam. Karibi watched curiously as the three disappeared through the gates of the forest before the young jonin called out another team. "Mikomi Rinha, Usami Kamizuru and Aiko Kamizuru." Karibi narrowed her eyes at the Iwagakure ninja but kept her composure as the three approached Kakashi. She watched them carefully, the jonin of the leaf muttering to them before they nodded, walking through the gates of the forest of death.

"The clock starts now!" Natsuki announced over a microphone as she smirked. "Remember. You have approximately four hours! Make them count."

"…Now what?" a young boy asked from a distance as the Uchiha glanced over at him. She shrugged as she began to walk away.

"Now you wait."

The first four hours had been easy to burn through. Karibi had kept herself busy with little games with Hayase and Hana to pass the time. And when the winners of that round had been called off, Karibi had thought that they would be lucky and be called next; they weren't.

"Chiru Akimichi, Maiko Kurama and Itsu Honotarou." Karibi glanced at Hayase and Hana, the pair keeping their eyes on Kakashi. "Rintarou Yotsuki, Tsubaki Kaisen and Amiki." Although they had to wait another four hours, Karibi tried to stay positive.

But then a-whole-nother four hours had passed, and she had been sure she was going to die.

"Hana Inuzuka, Hayase Nara and Karibi Uzumaki." The three lit up as they immediately hopped to their feet, rushing up to the silver haired jonin. He glanced at the first two before his eyes fell on Karibi, who smiled happily at him.

"Hey there, Kakashi!" Hayase and Hana blinked at their teammate, surprised she knew someone as renown in the ninja world as the young Hatake. He was a jonin after all, when had he the time to mingle with someone like Karibi?

"You guys know each other?" Hayase inquired curiously. Before Karibi could answer, the masked 12 year old shot a look to the young boy.

"Why don't we keep the useless questions to a minimum." The jonin ignored the fuming genin as Karibi sighed with a weak smile; she shouldn't have expected anything else from the masked boy.

"You three are in charge of guarding the scroll. It's located in the center of the forest. A chunin will lead you to it. Once you've arrived I'll send in the next team, and from their on, you're on your own."

"Right!"

"Now don't waste any time." Kakashi watched as the three made their way into the forest. His gaze lingered on Karibi as she stepped through the entryway. He stiffened as she looked back at him and then smiled before throwing a wink in his direction.

And then they were gone.

Scoffing, the jonin shook his head but stopped as he stared down at the next names. He frowned as he glanced up. "Rinko Hozuki, Asuka Hozuki and Tsuichi Hozuki." Twins and their eldest brother.

Kakashi watched as the three mist ninja approached him with smirks across their lips. He kept his composure as he examined them carefully; just by first-glance he could tell they were powerful.

"You three are to retrieve the scroll. Like Uchiha-san said, anything goes. You've got four hours."

"That should be easy enough," the youngest—Rinko—said as she began to tie her black hair up. The boy beside her, who was obviously her twin brother, merely nodded as he began to lead the way, the eldest of the three sighing with his hands behind his head.

"Lets just get this over with."

They were cocky. But Kakashi didn't doubt that they had reason to be. And that was a bit unsettling for him. After all, Minato had entrusted Karibi's safety to him months ago.

And he was still watching over her.

§

The forest was dark, with barely any sunlight coming in through the leaves. The trees with thick as well as the humidity. The grass was still slightly damp from the morning dew, toes aching from the slight coldness they felt with every step.

Karibi frowned as she hugged herself, glancing around the woods; there was something ominous about the place. She winced as she bumped into Hana's back, the older girl glancing back at her teammate with an exasperated stare. Karibi silently smiled sheepishly before the brown haired girl quietly chortled and turned back around to face the chunin leading them to the scroll.

"You are not to touch the scroll," he began. "The scroll stays exactly where it is on the pedestal. If you try and move it—we'll know." The three nodded at that.

"If we can't touch it or move it, how are we supposed to protect it?" Hayase asked as the chunin shrugged.

"Figure it out." And with that, he disappeared.

"…Damn it," Hayase snapped as he shook his head, his two other teammates joining him as they stared down at the scroll.

"I wonder who we'll be facing," Karibi said as Hana smirked.

"I can—"

"Alright!" The three stiffened as Natsuki-sensei's voice came over the loudspeaker. "Your time starts now! You've got exactly four hours. Whoever has the scroll when the timer goes off wins. Good luck!"

"How are we going to know where they're coming from?" Hayase asked quietly as he took a step closer to the scroll. Karibi shook her head as she turned to the pedestal.

"First thing's first. We have to find a way to guard the scroll without having to move or touch it."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" the male of the team inquired as Karibi glanced at Hana, who frowned.

"Well…Karibi, would you be able to create a barrier around the scroll? In case the three of us are unable to keep our eye on the scroll, at least the barrier will hold off whoever comes our way."

"Right. I think I can do that!" Kushina had taught Karibi well in fuinjutsu. Although the young girl had prior knowledge on a few jutsu, Kushina had opened a door to a whole new world for her. She was still a bit rusty on a few of the techniques, but a barrier was something she could manage.

"While you're doing that, I'll flush out the enemy," Hana stated as Hayase raised a brow.

"How?" Hana smirked as she pulled out a kunai, pricking the tip of her index finger before she began to form hand signs. Karibi and Hayase watched in admiration as Hana planted her hand on to the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Consumed by a cloud of smoke, Hana smirked to herself as her teammates watched quietly.

"..Whoa…" There, stood three gray and white dogs.

"That's amazing!" Karibi grinned as she approached the dogs, the three sniffing her carefully before allowing her to pet them.

"This way, I'll be able to know who's coming and from where. We'll sat up a perimeter and I'll have each of my nin-dogs guard one side of it."

"You sure your dogs can handle a job like—ah!" Hayase quickly sought shelter behind Karibi as the youngest of the team laughed, the dogs growling and bearing their teeth to the boy. "N—Never mind!"

§

Just as Hana had said, she had gone with her three dogs, setting up a perimeter around the scroll. Hayase waited patiently; his expertise was more with ninjutsu and taijutsu. All the while, Karibi had created a stone barrier around the scroll. She smiled proudly down at her work as she looked over at Hayase.

"Haya-chan! Come over here!"

"What is it?" the young man asked as he leaned over Karibi's shoulder. The girl pointed to the barrier as she moved aside.

"I want to make sure this will hold."

"Right." With a swiftness that Karibi envied, Hayase gracefully created hand signs before his arm began to turn a dark shade of brown.

"Earth Style: Iron Skin!" Pulling his fist back, Hayase thrust forward as hard as he could, his eyes widening when the barrier did not yield to him. He blinked before trying once more; he had failed again.

"Nice work, Karibi," Hayase stated as he released his jutsu, his arm fading back to its normal color. The girl smiled proudly as she nodded.

"No one will be getting past that barrier—"

"Hey!" The pair turned around as they watched Hana emerge from the trees. "I've just finished up setting the perimeter." Immediately, Hayase and Karibi felt a disturbance in the air. They stared at Hana as Karibi frowned before forcing a smile across her lips.

"How is it?"

"It's perfect. We should be able to guard the scroll…is something wrong?" Hayase took a step in front of Karibi as he glared at the person in front of him.

"Who are you?"

"Wh—What?" The girl gave the two teammates a flustered stare as she took a step towards them. "What are you taking about, Hayase?"

"You heard me!" he snapped as the boy glared icily. "Who the hell are you?"

Karibi stood silently as she stared at Hana; just by the way this stranger's chakra flowed, she could tell it was not Hana. The girl still feigned confusion as she crossed her arms. "I seriously don't know—" Without warning, Hayase darted forward with a kunai at the ready. The young woman released a surprised yelp before she quickly blocked his attack with her own kunai, glaring back at him.

"What are you doing?!" she snapped as Hayase merely growled.

"You're an imposter."

"I'm not!"

"Yes, Yes you are!"

"Get a hold of yourself, you idiot!"

Karibi's frown deepened as she watched the two intently. Looking into Hana's eyes, she could see the sincerity and the honesty; she was telling the truth. But that wasn't Hana. The young girl was sure of it. But then, how could that be? She moved like Hana, sounded like Hana—if it hadn't been for the strange chakra it would have been nearly impossible to tell the difference.

But then, Karibi thought harder.

Her eyes widened as she placed her hands together, locking her hands together, she held up her index finger and middle finger. "Release!" The haziness in her mind vanished as the young girl blinked; Hayase was alone.

"Hayase!" she called before her body stiffened. She quickly span around and glared as she quickly pulled out two kunai with attached paper bombs to the end. Throwing them with accuracy, Karibi watched as the shadow lingering by the protected scroll leaped away from the explosions.

"Hayase! It's genjutsu!" she yelled; he couldn't hear her. Turning, the young genin began to run towards her teammate, but before she could reach out to him, several balls of force hit her, knocking her to the ground. Having not expected the attack, Karibi yelled out when she hit the ground, wincing.

"Water Balloon Jutsu!" The 8 year old groaned as she carefully sat up. She blinked as she glanced down at herself; she was nearly soaked.

"Look, kid. I just want to make this quick. There is no reason that this has to drag on for four hours." Karibi blinked as she looked up and watched as a black haired genin appeared from the trees. She stared in awe for a moment, the sun just glinting off of his mist forehead protector and nearly blinding her.

"I won't let you take it!" Karibi snapped as she quickly stood to her feet, jumping back and landing just before the scroll. She glanced around her enemy as she frowned; Hayase was still under the genjutsu.

"You can't beat me, kid."

"And how can you be so sure?" Karibi snapped in return.

"Because." Without another word, the tall boy appeared in front of her, his fist pulled back. Karibi's eyes caught on quickly to his movements as she raised her left arm in order to swat his fist away with her forearm. She smirked as she made contact with his arm, but her eyes widened.

In that moment, time seemed to slow. Karibi watched in astonishment as the boy's arm suddenly melded into water, her arm going straight through his.

In seconds, the boy's arm solidified, his fist colliding with her cheek. Karibi cried out as she stumbled back, falling to the ground; she hadn't been expecting that. She panted as she carefully sat up, raising her hand to her cheek. Wincing, she pulled her hand away from her face; that was going to swell.

"That's how I know."

* * *

><p><strong>An inside look at the chunin exams :) I'm not 100% sure how exactly the chunin exams work. I looked it up and did my research though, so I hope that my portrayal of the exams isn't terrible. And the beginning scene of this chapter will be explained, for those of you who read this and got confused. I will be returning to that scene, and it will all make sense in the future! There's also Hana and Hayase, who will be included more and more in this story since they are apart of Karibi's team! And although there hasn't been much of him, Kakashi will become a more present character as this story moves forward, so that is something to look forward to! <strong>

**Thank you for reading this story so far. I truly do appreciate everyone taking the time out of their day to give this a shot :D I hope that it has met everyone's expectations, and if not, I will work harder! I appreciate everyone reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! And I can only hope that my effort shows through the story itself, because I truly have been working my butt off! Thanks, again!**

**NOTICE: I just actually spoke with a reader, and I have discovered an error in my story! Karibi's teammate, Hana, I initially thought she was 24 when Naruto first starts due to a false source, but I've just now discovered and found that she's actually 18 years old. That was my mistake, 100% so I'm truly sorry about that! I hope that readers will continue to read even though I've made that mistake. For this story only  Hana will be 12 years old during the chunin exams. Sorry again! Such a silly mistake on my part, but that is the only error so please continue on and I hope you enjoy this chapter and story still! I'll be working even harder now!  
><strong>

**Reviews: **

**GlaresThatKill: **I'm really glad to hear that you're ready for the chunin exams! The next few chapters will be centered around that, and readers are going to get a closer look at just what Karibi is actually capable of as a ninja! And just like you thought, yes, this portion of the story is going to be about Karibi's past. The story is split into parts, or more like it's _going _to be split into parts. So this first part is just the beginning where the history of Karibi and such is explained! And yes, there is definitely going to be more Kakashi/Karibi stuff going on in the future :) So there's that to look forward to! Thank you for reading and reviewing! I hope that you enjoy the next chapter! Thank you!

**anime zzz: **This chapter is sort of like the beginning of seeing more of Karibi's character. More points about her past are going to be explained for readers and then there's also going to be more Kakashi and Karibi moments, so just bear with me until we get there! I'm relieved that you like seeing Minato and Kushina! I know they're not in the anime all that much, but I've done my best to write them in-character and I've done my best to not sully their name XD Hopefully it shows!

**forever - a i n e: **Welcome to the Naruto fandom then, forever - a i n e! I hope you're enjoying it LOL So glad you stopped by here and read this story! I'm glad that you are giving this a shot. I've put lots of thought and lots of work into this story and I'm going to continue to work hard on it! Thank you for the really kind words about this story :) I'll hopefully be updating soon again, but I'm not sure quite when that will be. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and any other chapters to come! Thank you, again!

**helenGet: **I'm very glad you think this is good so far. Like I said, there's a lot more to come with this story, so hopefully you'll keep enjoying and keep reading! I'll do my best to update quickly and to create entertaining work! Thank you for reviewing and reading and following! :) I really am glad to hear you like this!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Seven_

Natsuki sighed as she leaned back in her wheelie chair. She stared up at the ceiling of the camera room as she glanced at the clock; there was still three hours left for the fourth group.

"Shouldn't you be a little more attentive to the genin?" Rolling her eyes, the Uchiha sat up properly in her chair as she shot a cold stare to the intruder.

"Maybe when you're a proctor, you can tell me how to do my job. Until then, zip it." What right did some sorry excuse of a Sharingan-wielder have to try and lecture her?

Kakashi stared at Natsuki for a moment before he took a seat in front of the multiple monitors. His eye flashed across each one, noting who was where and what was going on. But his attention hadn't been entirely caught until he found himself staring at Karibi. He watched for a few moments, and when he tried to tear his gaze away to make a few notes, he couldn't stop himself from glancing back up.

She was taking a beating.

"You know her?" Looking to his left, Kakashi watched as Natsuki pulled up beside him and stared at the screen he'd been watching just a few seconds earlier. "She's rather promising. She aced every single one of her questions on the exam, and from what I've heard through sources, she was one of the best students at the academy." Kakashi said nothing as he turned his gaze back to the screen, mentally flinching as the girl hit the ground but quickly rolled on to her feet.

"…We'll see how promising she is after this part of the exam." Natsuki scoffed as she crossed her arms.

"The rumors about you are pretty true." The 28 year old watched the young boy carefully as he continued jotting notes down on a piece of paper.

"Believe whatever sort of stories you hear. I couldn't care less." And that was the whole truth.

§

There were two things that Karibi had figured out.

One—the genjutsu had been created by a chunin. And two?

Her opponent had this annoying ability where he could evade all physical attacks.

To start with, Karibi was the least talented with taijutsu. But she was also lacking in ninjutsu. Her forte was more in fuinjutsu and genjutsu. Things that dealt more with chakra-control and molding it were better for her. And although ninjutsu was rather similar in that sense, it seemed she wasn't quite as skilled in comparison to someone like Hayase—who could perform a perfect jutsu in his sleep.

He was nearly doing it then.

"Hayase! Snap out of it!" Karibi knew it was no use, because when it came to genjutsu, there were only a few ways to break it. Still, she had to try something. And although she wanted to break her teammate free from the illusion herself, it seemed that her opponent knew that as well; he wasn't going to let her.

"Give it up, kid. You can't beat me. Not like this," the older boy stated evenly as he shrugged. Karibi shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet, wiping the dirt from her face; she only succeeded in smudging it all over her cheek.

"You think I'm that weak?"

"No. I just think you're not strong enough right now." At least he was honest.

Karibi frowned as she looked over at Hayase and then to the forest. From what she knew, the chunin had left her to the mist genin. But that meant that he would return when she was at her weakest point. Not only that, but the chunin was still close by—close enough to keep Hayase locked in his genjutsu. And that left Hana. If Karibi was fighting one of the genin, that probably meant that his two teammates had stayed behind to deal with Hana and her ninja dogs. And if they hadn't shown up yet, then that meant that she was putting up a good fight.

That made Karibi smile.

Tsuichi watched the young girl carefully as he kept a straight face. He had originally wanted to make this quick, but this Karibi had been a bit too persistent. In normal cases, someone would have already given up. After the amount of times he hit her around, she shouldn't have been able to move. But he had quickly learned that she seemed to have a rather quick recovery rate. And since she had nearly used none of her chakra, she still had a bit of fight left inside.

But that was no good for him.

"Well, if you want to finish this all off so badly, then why don't you come and get me!" Karibi smirked as Tsuichi raised a brow. He stared at her for a moment as he contemplated the idea. And then in a second, he was running towards the young girl. He narrowed his eyes as he morphed his entire body into water; he was going to finish this now.

"I—" Tsuichi stopped. Not willingly. His entire body had suddenly come to an abrupt halt. "What—" Looking down at his feet, the eldest Hozuki's eyes widened as he watched thin strips of paper with writing began to wrap around his leg. He stared in horror as it engulfed his body, tying around him and holding him in place.

"Finally." Karibi smiled happily as she pulled out a tag from her small pack on her waist. She held it out to Tsuichi as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Not even you can get around this."

"What is that?" the mist genin snapped as Karibi sighed, letting her shoulders sag for just a single moment.

"It's a sealing tag. I wasn't just being thrown around by you. I was_letting_ you hit me around." Tsuichi scoffed. "I needed to place these tags on the ground without you noticing. So I purposely left myself basically defenseless against you. And when I hit the ground, I placed a tag down. You had to step on one eventually." Karibi smiled widely.

"Don't go anywhere!"

"You little—" Tsuichi watched with an irritated sigh as Karibi quickly ran up to her teammate, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Release!" Immediately, Hayase fell to his knees as he squeezed his eyes shut; his head was spinning and he was sure that the ground beneath his feet was making him stumble.

"Hayase!"

"Ka—Karibi?" He looked up and his eyes widened; she looked rather swollen. "What happened—" His teammate pointed to the trapped mist ninja as he blinked. He looked back to the 8 year old as she smiled down at him.

"What the hell happened?"

"I'll explain later. My Sealing Tag Barrier won't hold forever. He has a special ability to change his entire body into water—as you can see," she explained as she pointed to the watery figure trapped in her tag. "I would take him out, but his teammates are going to be looking for him."

"You think Hana—" Karibi nodded as Hayase frowned before looking back at the enemy genin.

"She's strong, and I'm sure she's still holding them off, but who knows how strong they are. I could barely keep this guy off me—I got lucky," the youngest of Team 2 stated as she sighed. "So we need to take the three of them out all together."

"Alright then. How do you want to do that?" Hayase asked as Karibi smirked.

"Well—that's the fun part."

§

There were only two hours left for this group of genin, and surprisingly enough, for the proctor and the jonin—time had gone by rather quickly. Their eyes stayed glued to the screens as they switched from watching the dog-tamer to the two other genin. Natsuki smirked as she watched the Nara perform hand seals.

"So that's what they're up to."

Kakashi said nothing as he merely watched, his eye lingering on Karibi before he turned his attention to Hana, who fell from a tree branch but was caught by one of her dogs; the Hozuki's had finally gotten past.

"This is where it will get interesting." Kakashi merely shrugged as his companion began to pout. "Don't you have any other emotions other than stale?" The 12 year old looked over at the older woman before he stared up at the screen. His gaze was hollow for a second as he stared aimlessly.

No, he wasn't sure if he had any other emotions anymore.

"Well, looks like that girl and kid are making their move." Ripping his attention away from the demons whispering in his ear, Kakashi turned his attention back to Karibi.

It was the only time in which the clenching in his heart relaxed.

§

"Rinko! Hurry up! Tsuichi's not going to be happy if we take any longer."

"Whose fault is that? It's not like I could have predicted that the girl had dogs!" The Hozuki twins moved swiftly through the forest, leaping from tree to tree. They finally reached the clearing as the landed silently on their feet. A smirk etched itself across the older twin as he began to approach Tsuichi, who was knelt down in front of a cracking stone barrier; that must have been where the scroll was.

"Looks like you did a number on these guys." The young twin smirked widely as she glanced at the limp bodies of a girl and boy from the leaf. Her eyes lingered on them, the two lying motionlessly on the ground.

"Tsuichi?" Asuka frowned at his older brother's silence as the two continued to approach the young man. Stopping behind him, they raised a brow. "What's wrong—" Suddenly, they were stuck. Rinko yelled out as strips of parchment began to intertwine with her body, Asuka gasping at the same time.

"Now!" Their eyes widened as they looked over their shoulder, the two limp bodies now rising from the ground.

"Nice work, Karibi!" The two looked back as best as they possibly could, the once unconscious boy slowly standing to his feet from the distance. As he stood, Tsuichi began to stand as well, mimicking the opponent's movements.

"Tsuichi! What—"

"Let me explain."

Gaining everyone's attention, Karibi dusted herself off as she glanced over at the copy of Hayase beside her. She smiled as the copy disappeared in a cloud of smoke, her own clone now standing beside her. "A—A transformation and a shadow clone?"

"That's right!" Approaching Hayase's side, the two smiled at each other.

"We wanted to take you guys out all together. Seeing as it was two against one, I knew that you'd eventually get past Hana," the young leaf genin began to explain. "I had already immobilized your teammate, and since he was able to shift into water, in order to keep him from changing back, Hayase attacked him with a fire style jutsu." Hayase nodded as he smirked.

"It's like drying out a wet towel."

"Without the moisture, you guys can't shift into water, right?" Rinko grit her teeth at that.

"I come from a family who works a lot with shadows, so I took advantage of that, and in order to make it look like your teammate was trying to get the scroll, I made him do it," Hayase explained as Tsuichi scoffed.

"You think these little sheets of paper are going to be able to hold us?" Rinko snapped angrily as Karibi shook her head.

"Nope. But that's why we're going to finish this now." Releasing his jutsu, Hayase stood to his feet, Tsuichi falling to his knees and panting; he was out of energy.

"Ok, Haya-chan. I've never actually tried this jutsu before. But I've read on it multiple times!"

"I'm not sure if that's exactly the same…"

"Well, I'm sort of all out of ideas."

"Can't I just knock them out?"

"Him? Yes. But those two—they can still morph into water. So even if we try land a hit, they can still change, they just can't move," Karibi stated evenly. "I don't want to give them a chance to get their strength back. We take them out and then I can seal them securely, and for the rest of the time we won't have to worry about anything other than a possible sighting of a chunin." Hayase hesitated but nodded as he began to follow his teammate.

"Wh—What are you doing?" Asuka asked apprehensively as he watched the leaf genin stand around them, just across the way from the other.

"Don't worry! We're just going to knock you out for a bit!" Karibi assured.

"Now. You remember the hand signs I taught you, right?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. We perform those at the same, exact time. Or else this will have all been for nothing."

"Got it."

Hayase smirked as he nodded to Karibi and she smirked back at him. Nodding, the two began to simultaneously make the same signs. Never once did they break eye contact before they both knelt to the ground, slamming their palms into the grass.

"Seal Barrier!" Without warning, a sealing formula appeared around the three mist genin. Their eyes widened when a burst of energy surrounded them, nearly suffocating them.

Karibi winced as she felt her chakra coursing through her body, sinking through her fingers and into the formula. She began to tremble as she glanced up at Hayase; she only needed just a bit of his chakra. Looking up at the three mist ninja, the 8 year old grinned as a light consumed them before the formula disappeared, leaving Hayase and Karibi breathless.

Watching carefully, Hayase laughed when the mist ninja fell to the ground, their chakra and most powerful jutsu now locked away. "It worked!"

"I—I told you…" Karibi winced as she fell to the ground. Hayase stiffening.

"Karibi!"

"I—I'm ok!" she called out with a laugh, though she didn't bother moving. "Just a little…little tired," she stated as she closed her eyes.

"Hayase, check their packs and make sure to remove any water from them. I'm sure they have tons in order to stay hydrated enough for that jutsu they use."

"Ye—Yeah." Hesitantly, the 10 year old did as he was told before he quickly approached Karibi's side and helped her sit up.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Just need rest," she stated as she kept her eyes close, falling in-and-out of consciousness. Hayase frowned before his eyes narrowed. He gently set Karibi on the forest floor as he pulled out a kunai, standing to his feet. Silently, he waited for the unknown intruder to appear, but he relaxed when he finally recognized the stranger.

"That better be you this time, Hana."

"What are you—Karibi!" Hana emerged from the trees with her dogs, and she found three, tied up mist genin and an unconscious Karibi. "Wh—What happened?"

Hayase sighed. "It's a long story."

§

Her eye lids felt heavy, but she was sure she could hear voices. She recognized them, but she couldn't quite match faces with them. Still, she continued to try as she slowly began to open her eyes, wincing as she stared up at the sun through the leaves. She frowned as she slowly turned her head to her right, the world at a strange angle from where she was; she was lying on the ground.

"H—Hayase…Hana?" Karibi whispered as she watched the two kick back two leaf chunin. She frowned to herself as she carefully began to sit up, their voices suddenly evening out and reality finally settling over her.

"Hayase!"

"I can only hold up to eight people with my Shadow Paralysis!"

The last two hours had been rather easy to deal with. Hana had her ninja dog drop the bound mist genin in the far end of the forest as Hayase made sure to stay by the scroll and Karibi's side. After that, it was just about waiting the time out. But towards the last stretch of the second part of the exam—that was when the trouble had truly began.

There were twelve chunin. They had appeared without warning, and they had been relentless with the team from the start. Hayase had been quick to push back most of the chunin, but that had only succeeded in holding them back. Hana's dogs had easily eliminated several of the chunin, but that still wasn't enough. With only a few minutes left until time ran out, Hana and Hayase did their best to hold their ground. And although they were doing well on their own, it was still difficult.

"Hana!" Hayase yelled out as he glanced over his shoulder, one of the chunin slipping past them. Said girl quickly kicked on of the chunin aside as she frowned, looking back as the man laughed, jumping and landing right before the scroll. With a simple kick, he removed the stone barrier Karibi had placed around the scroll as he smirked to himself.

"I—"

"_No_!" Thin arms wrapped tightly around the young man, a body tackling him before he could reach the scroll. He flinched as he hit the ground, his captor growling over him. "We've come too close!" she snapped.

"Karibi!"

"Move!" Doing as she commanded Hayase released his jutsu as he quickly leaped over and pulled Hana aside. They watched as their awakened teammate threw a kunai, the blade digging into the ground just in front of the few chunin.

"What—" Eyes widened. "Paper bomb!" Within seconds, the bomb had gone off, a cloud of smoke and dust filling the air.

Fanning away the dust, Hayase blinked before he helped Hana to her feet. They quickly ran up to Karibi's side as she sat directly in front of the scroll, panting. She glanced up at the two before she grinned.

"Time's up!" The three froze as they blinked, Natsuki suddenly appearing in front of them with her hands on her hips. "And would you look at that. You guys pass."

Lost for words, the three leaf genin sat in silence for a moment before they exchanged glances. The proctor watched them carefully as she flicked a piece of her black hair over her shoulder and away from her face. Nearly jumping out of her skin, the older woman sighed, the genin cheering happily.

"Yeah! We made it!" Karibi laughed as she jumped to her feet, but the second the base of her sandals touched the ground, her eyes widened as her knees buckled. She yelped before two sets of hands quickly caught her.

"We've got you!"

"Thanks, guys."

"Relax, punks. A chunin will escort you to the other end of the forest, where you will wait for the last two rounds."

"Right!"

* * *

><p><strong>I just want to start by saying that I'm not so proud of this chapter. Still, I hope that whoever is here reading still enjoyed reading this! A friend of mine said that not every chapter is going to be a favorite chapter, and I think this chapter is just one of those situations. I've been working hard though, so I hope that shows in the writing! I can admit that there's still a lot for me to do in order to become a better writer, so I'll definitely be working on what I can. <strong>

**I've explained this in the last chapter, but just in case someone missed it, Hana's age is incorrect here. I got her age from an incorrect source, so unfortunately her age is off from the series itself. For the sake of this story, she will remain as 12 years old in this story. I truly do hope that all readers can over look this mistake I've made and continue to read and enjoy! I'll work even hard from this point on to make this story better :) Sorry for the mix up and for the confusion! **

**Thanks for all who are still reading and thank you to whoever has just begun reading. I appreciate the support and I appreciate everyone for taking the time out to give this story a shot! I'll do my best to do better and better. And I hope whoever is reading this will continue to read and like this story! If there is anything you want to see or anything corrections I should make please feel free to message me or leave me a review! :)**

**Reviews:**

**BROTH3R MENACE: **I know I message you about your review, but I just wanted to say, again, thank you for pointing out the error in the age! Hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for the review! After the chunin exams things will begin to speed up a bit and you'll get to see how exactly things for Karibi work out! So just bear with me on this! Thanks again!

**love4music55: **I'm glad that you're excited for the chunin exams! There are going to be a few more chapters with the exam, so hopefully you'll end up liking those chapters :) And like I've said before, I know it's slow, but there's going to be gradual progress with Karibi and Kakashi as well as other characters as well! I wanted to be able to make a friendship that was believable rather than relationship right off the bat, so we'll see how it all works out, but I'm happy to hear that you appreciate that! Thank you for reading, I really appreciate you taking the time to read! And I hope you continue to keep reading! Thank you!

**Guest: **I know there isn't much about Karibi's past just yet, but there will be more to be discovered once more chapters are written. I'll admit there's still a ways before Karibi and Naruto meet, but when the time comes, I hope their first meeting will be a good read for you and all other people who decide to stay tuned for that moment! As for how far I plan on taking the story...well, this story will definitely be a bit longer, but it's going to be cut up into parts, so with all the parts together, this story may be long, but if you were to divide the parts of the story up, it won't be too long. Thank you for reviewing and reading :D And I'm glad that you are enjoying the story and the writing, and I can only hope that you will continue to like it! Thanks again!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. I only own Karibi, Riku and Hayase.**

_Chapter Eight_

"You ok?" Karibi opened her eyes as she laid comfortably on the floor, Hana gazing down at her with her hands on her hips. She watched as her recovering teammate grinned, sitting up. Her eyes widened as she jerked forward, Karibi immediately falling back to the ground and wincing.

"Still trying to get some strength back, but I'm ok!" she said reassuringly. "That last jutsu really took a lot out of me."

"You should have told me that before we did it," Hayase snapped as he approached his teammates, having been talking with another passing genin; the Nara and Akimichi families were close.

"If I had told you from the beginning, you wouldn't have let me perform the jutsu."

"Exactly! You idiot," the young man of the team snapped as Hana chuckled at his concern.

"Well, I'm just glad we all made it out of that well enough," the girl with marked cheeks stated as her teammates nodded in agreement.

"Alright, kiddies! Listen closely!" Natsuki suddenly appeared in the large indoor training facility, Kakashi beside her with his hands in his pockets. Karibi glanced at the young boy from her position on the floor, his eye catching hers for just a second before the Uchiha caught the Uzumaki's full attention. "The remaining four teams here are who's left of this chunin exam." An extra team had been disqualified; a chunin had gotten a hold of the scroll by the end of the round.

"First of all, I'll start by saying congratulations," the dark haired jonin said with a fox-like smirk. "I didn't think most of you would make it. But! I was wrong—and that never usually happens." Kakashi's scoff didn't go unnoticed by the speaker.

"Now, in normal cases, the last part of the chunin exam would take place in the next month or so, but this time around, things are going to be going a little differently."

Everyone's eyes widened when the Hokage strolled into the room with the Tsuchikage at his side.

It hadn't been Minato's favorite plan, but it had been the one that he and the Kage of Iwagakure could agree on.

The Tsuchikage had arrived without delay and had been greeted properly by Minato as well as Hiruzen and Danzo. A few of the Fourth's trusted members of the ANBU had joined as well—merely for precautionary reasons. Once the newly allied Kage had arrived to the Leaf Village, Minato had been quick to privately discuss what their future plans for the chunin exams would be. At first, it had been tedious; neither seemed to be able to come to an agreement. It wasn't until they had both agreed that the third part of the exam would take strictly right after the remaining genin passed the second part that the back-and-forth bickering came to a cease-fire.

Minato had been hesitant to agree at first. He wanted to give the genin a chance to recover from the last exam, but the Tsuchikage had been persistent. He wanted to see if the genin had the endurance of _true _ninja. And so, they had both agreed upon beginning the last part of the exam after a half-hour hiatus for the genin.

Everyone began to bow as they recovered from their initial shock, Minato smiling as his eyes lingered on Karibi—who was now standing to her feet with Hayase's help; she wanted to show as much respect as she could for her guardian.

"Congratulations to everyone who has made it this far in this exam," Minato began with a warm smile, everyone staring at him with admiration and inspiration in their eyes; ninja far and wide had heard of the great strength of the Yellow Flash. "You should all be proud of where you are standing at this very moment. But the end has yet to come. This one, last part of the exam will show not only us, but yourselves if you are truly ready for this next step in your life," the blond stated evenly as the man beside him nodded in agreement, recalling all of the faces of the possible-future-chunin. His gaze lingered on a redhead in the crowd, her eyes glued to Minato's face.

"As Natsuki-san was explaining earlier, usually, those who have made it this far are given a month of training in order to hone their skills and properly prepare for the last part of the exam—which is a one-on-one battle." Minato gazed seriously at the remaining 12. "This year, we will be hosting the last part of the exam today." Murmurs began to fill the silence as the genin gasped and gapped.

"But we've only just finished the Forest of Death!" a feminine voice rang out as others began to nod along with what she had said.

"This is the true test. A shinobi must withstand some of the most trying circumstances. They must have the strength to push forward even when it feels as if they can't," Minato stated as he glanced over at the Tsuchikage, the man pulling his hat off and nodding as he gave the possible chunin somber stares of his own.

"You will all have 30 minutes to rest and recuperate. If you do not feel up to the challenge then you may say so when the time to begin the third and last part of the exam begins." Without another word, the two men walked out of the room.

"30 minutes? No disrespect, but is the Hokage out of his mind?" Hayase snapped as Hana frowned and crossed her arms.

"Alright, you all heard him. You will all get a half-hour. Once the clock strikes one, you will report to the battle arena, you got that? Anyone who's late will automatically be disqualified." Natsuki gazed out at the genin before she smirked. "Good luck."

§

Wincing, Karibi forced herself to sit up as she panted, her body begging her to stop and just lie back down. But she had no other choice, the time for the last part of the exam was quickly coming, and she was going to have to stand sooner or later; she would have much rather preferred later, but she had no choice in the matter.

After Natsuki had dismissed the genin, those who needed a bit of assistance with any wounds and injuries were directed to the infirmary. Medic-nin were present in order to make sure everyone was at least well enough to stand on their feet. Hayase and Hana had been quick to get their teammate to the medics, and although they had helped with most of the pain, Karibi was still low on chakra and her body was exhausted. Still, the young girl had insisted she was well enough and would just lie down until the time came for her to get back on her feet; she had come too far to give up now.

"Come on," the young girl muttered to herself as she slowly began to slide off of the stretcher, but as her feet planted to the ground, her legs gave out. Her eyes widened as she let out a yelp, but before she could hit the ground, a pair of hands grabbed her by her under-arms and kept her in place. She blinked as she looked over her shoulder, a familiar masked jonin standing behind her. She grinned as he kept her steady on her feet.

"Kakashi-san! What are you doing here?"

He had been reading her file over since the end of the second part of the exam. He didn't show it, but he was genuinely caught off guard at the amount of strength she had as well as how much chakra she was able to conjure up in order to pull off that massive sealing jutsu. He knew from his time of trailing her that Kushina had been teaching her a few things, but he hadn't known it was to that extent. And although he was no longer technically in charge of guarding Karibi and keeping an eye on her, he knew just how important she was to Minato and Kushina, and so every now and then he would check on her.

That was why he had approached her now.

He didn't mind so much these days. Yes, at first he thought she was nothing but a brat who was wasting his time. But she was rather strong, and she was a quick learner. Not to mention she had known he was following her all along, since the very beginning when he had first seen her on the bridge. And, although he didn't admit it—even to himself—he enjoyed being around Karibi at times; she made him feel innocent and human again.

She made him forget that he was a monster with blood-stained claws.

"The better question is, what do you think you're doing?" he shot back with a stale stare, Karibi blinking.

"I'm heading to the arena. Where else would I be going?" Kakashi scoffed.

"All of your chakra is depleted. You can't be actually serious about competing still," Kakashi said exasperatedly as Karibi flinched; just trying to adjust in her seat hurt.

"I have to."

"There's a chunin exam twice a year. Don't be stupid and reckless," Kakashi snapped. "Just try again—"

"No!" There was a desperation in Karibi's voice and eyes as she gripped tightly to the sleeve of Kakashi's shirt. Never had the jonin ever seen the usually chipper girl look so scared and so hesitant before; it was almost unnerving.

"Please...I need to do this."

"...Why?" Karibi pulled away from the 12 year old as he eyed her wearily. He watched her carefully as she battled herself before she cleared her throat.

"I need to become a chunin because...I promised myself that..." Trailing off, the redhead released an embarrassed and frustrated sigh. She glared up at Kakashi as he crossed his arms, waiting patiently for the rest of the 8 year old's explanation; he'd get his answer one way or another. "...I promised myself that I would stop being a disappointment." Kakashi hadn't been expecting that.

"Are you talking about Minato-sensei and Kushina-san?" That couldn't have been right. "They wouldn't—"

"No—I know they wouldn't ever be disappointed if I failed this time but—but—" Karibi frowned. "...I told them I would pass, so I'm going to. I won't let them down like I let my mother and father down...I won't be thrown away again," she whispered, the young man standing in front of her with wide eyes.

"I thought you said your parents were killed." That had been what she had told Kushina and Minato.

The young girl's eyes widened as she quickly looked up, meeting Kakashi's narrowed eyes. "I—I—"

"Karibi! How are you—" Hana and Hayase came waltzing into the room, unknowing of the intense air that was building between her and Kakashi. The two came to an abrupt stop as they noticed Karibi's guest. They stiffened when he turned his head to them and glared with just his one eye; even _that _was terrifying when it was coming from the White Fang's son.

"...Sorry, did we interrupt—"

"Nope! Let's get going to the arena!" Karibi quickly said with a nervous laugh as she motioned for Hayase to assist her. Kakashi said nothing as he stared coldly at the young girl. She was using her teammates to escape the truth, and a part of him wanted to lash out and stop her, but the other part of him—the more rational part of him, forced himself to remain calm. She wasn't going anywhere, and there was nowhere for her to run to.

He'd get to the bottom of this.

§

"What was that about?" Karibi blinked as Hayase looked over at her with a curious stare.

"What do you mean?"

"Hatake-san just seemed really angry about something, is all," he pointed out as Hana smirked at him.

"What? Are you jealous of him?" she teased as the Nara shot his teammate a look before shaking his head.

"Not even a little bit."

"There's just a misunderstanding, that's all." Karibi should have been honest from the beginning, but now it was too late.

When she had first began speaking, Minato and Kushina had been slow with the questions. They asked her little-by-little what they wanted to know, and for the most part, the young girl had been completely honest with them. But there was just one thing that she had lied about. The one thing that she wanted to never think about again. It was the one thing that she wished hadn't been true.

After reaching the stop of the stairs, the three genin glanced around the large stadium, their sensei waiting in a seat just ahead with her legs crossed. She glanced up and then began to grin, her three genin grinning back at her, though one of her students seemed wearier than the others.

"I knew you guys would make it!"

"Sensei!" Riku opened her arms and pulled the three into a warm hug before she stopped, stepping away when she noticed Karibi's weak state. She frowned as the redhead smiled sheepishly up at her teacher.

"How do you expect to fight like this?" Riku asked incredulously as Karibi waved the woman's concern off.

"It's not a problem! It's not like I'll be first—"

"The third part of the exam will now begin!" Natsuki stood in the center of the stadium, her sandals leaving print in the dirt. "If there are any of you who would like to forfeit before we begin, speak now! You don't get a second chance," the Uchiha stated evenly as she looked around the arena, bright lights giving her sight through the darkness of the night. She waited for a minute, staring out carefully to those sitting in the stands. When no one raised their hands or stepped forward, she continued on.

"Alright then. These next fights will be one-on-one, knock-out style. Last person standing is the winner. But winning doesn't mean you've passed on to being chunin. The Hokage and Tsuchikage will ultimately have the last word." The genin glanced over at the their leader and his ally, the two sitting beside each other in the Hokage's personal seating area.

"Any questions?" Even if someone had one, Natsuki would have ignored it anyways. "Good! Then, the first battle will be between Kurenai Yuhi and Karibi Uzumaki."

Karibi blinked with wide eyes as her teammates turned to look at her. She tried to overcome the shock she was feeling as she glanced across the stadium and watched as a young girl, perhaps a few years older than her, hopped down to the ground, her red eyes gleaming in the light. The redhead gulped as she glanced to her sensei, the woman smiling and nodding her head reassuringly.

"Go get 'em." Karibi chuckled weakly before she took a deep breath. She forced herself to her feet before she cleared her throat, hopping up on to the ledge of the railing. She nearly fell but caught her balance before she looked back to her teammates.

"Here I go!" With that, the young girl jumped down and tried to land on her feet; she ended up stumbling to a knee.

"So that's the Uzumaki." Minato glanced over at the older man, his expression remaining neutral. "What was her name?"

"Karibi," Minato said calmly as he looked out to the young girl.

"What strength she must hold..." An awkward and stiff silence fell over the pair as they stared down at Karibi, neither forgetting that she once had been captured by the Iwagakure ninja. Still, no one bothered to bring attention to the past; they were now trying to move forward for their people.

Before the tension could worsen, Minato looked over his shoulder, his last student appearing behind him. He raised a brow from curiosity, noticing the way Kakashi seemed to glower and the way his muscles clamped and relaxed. There was something bothering the 12 year old, but he didn't know exactly what.

"Kakashi, what is it?" the Yellow Flash inquired as the jonin bowed to both of the Kages before quickly approaching his former sensei's side.

"There's something you need to know, Minato-sensei," the silver haired boy said in a low voice. Minato frowned at that as he watched Kakashi stand at his side, his visible eye wandering on to Karibi.

He had to tell his sensei that she was lying. She had been withholding information from them for a year-and-a-half now, and that meant that she couldn't be trusted. Whatever she had told Minato and Kushina and the Third Hokage—it had been a lie. Kakashi wasn't sure what the truth was, but he was sure that not knowing it could be dangerous for everyone one. Perhaps Karibi had been allies with the rock ninja all along. It would all make sense. If the village hidden in the rocks wanted to plan an attack, now was the perfect time. The Tsuchikage was already inside the village, and the treaty between the two villages had created a false sense of comfort for the leaf; now was as perfect as any time to rekindle unfinished business the Iwagakure had.

"Kakashi, what is it?" Minato glanced from his student to Karibi, who was now speaking with Natsuki and Kurenai. "Kakashi?"

Said young man merely continued to stare at Karibi, and as he did so, he could feel doubt eating away at his accusations. Something about the scenarios in his mind didn't match up with anything. Yes, Karibi was hiding something, but did that truly mean that she a danger to the village?

Kakashi didn't want to believe that.

"It's nothing," the young man said as he turned his attention to the Fourth. "I was just wondering if it was a good idea to let Karibi fight in her condition." Minato blinked as he glanced over at the young girl. It would be a lie if he said that he hadn't sensed the lack of chakra and energy in the redhead's body, but she was still able to stand, and he knew better than anyone else that she was stronger than most people gave her credit for; he believed in her completely.

"If she wants to continue with the exam, I'm not going to stop her," the Hokage stated with a smile. "You should have a bit more faith, Kakashi." Said boy merely nodded, mentally berating himself for not being able to will himself to say what he needed to say to his sensei.

The man had no idea just how true his words were.

* * *

><p><strong>The chunin exam arc is almost to a close. Not much to say today! I've been doing my best trying to update as frequently as possible, but with my schedule and lack of internet access, updating is a bit difficult. I'll do my best to update soon again. Kakashi and Karibi will be having many more moments to come, so don't worry about those two ;) And the action will be coming with a sudden punch. So just keep your patience and all will come with time! <strong>

**Thank you for reading, following and favoriting :) I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read this story. And I'm very thankful that people are enjoying this. I hope that you all can see my hard work through the writing. I'll continue to work hard and I hope that future posts will be enjoyed! **

**Thank you again!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. I only own Karibi, Hayase and Riku**

_Chapter Nine_

"Alright, you guys understand how this goes, right?" Karibi and Kurenai nodded as Natsuki smirked. "Anything goes. Don't try to kill your opponent though. We're aiming to recruit future chunin, not bury them." The two young girls nodded as the proctor stretched, cracking her back before she turned and jumped up to where the leader of the Leaf and Rock were. Karibi's eyes followed her, and the young girl's body stiffened entirely when her gaze fell upon the masked boy. She stared long and hard at him as he glared back, but from what she could tell, whatever he thought or knew—he was keeping it to himself.

"Alright. Let the battle begin!"

Kurenai had heard about this young rookie. She had never actually met her opponent personally, but she had heard things from Guy and from Asuma. And she also knew that Kakashi had some personal relationship with her, though she didn't know exactly what since he was rarely around anymore. From what she was told, Karibi was quite the pro with controlling her chakra. And although Kurenai was skilled as well, she knew she was going to have her hands full; the younger girl had passed the academy and had become a genin at the mere age of seven.

As for Karibi, she was terrified. Although she remained cool on the outside, her heart was racing and her body was trembling. She was afraid to move even an inch, or else her legs would give out, and the last thing she wanted to do was give away her weaknesses so early in the round. Not to mention she knew very little about this Kurenai's abilities. Still, she couldn't give up so easily. So, she stood her ground and kept a close eye on the 13 year old.

The red-eyed girl wasted no time as she swiftly darted forward. Karibi watched her movements carefully, not budging from her spot. She waited until the very last minute, mustering whatever strength she had to quickly jump over the attacking girl. Kurenai quickly turned and watched as her opponent landed on the ground, falling to her knees as her legs gave way. She smirked at that as she took her chance.

Karibi's eyes widened, having not expected the woman to have such speed and precision. She flinched when she felt Kurenai's elbow dig into her stomach. Then a foot dug into her gut twice, causing her to stumble back, and just as she prepared herself for another attack, she blinked, her opponent stepping into a cloud of mist and disappearing. She tried to sense the woman's chakra, but having very little of her own and nearly no strength keeping her up, Karibi didn't have time to realize that Kurenai had stepped out from a pink cloud behind her. The 13 year old pulled out a kunai and quickly pulled her arm back, and just as she swung, Karibi looked over her shoulder. Her amethyst eyes widened as she quickly twisted her body, avoiding any critical damage from the kunai; it merely sliced her right forearm.

"Damn," Kurenai cursed as she caught her balance, the redhead quickly pulling out paper bombs and throwing them in her direction. She quickly leaped out of the way, which gave Karibi just enough time to pull out five shuriken. She began to run, and as she did so, she threw the weapons with perfect accuracy, the blades of the shurikens breaking the lights.

The entire stadium was covered in darkness.

"Using the night to her advantage." Onoki smirked at that, his eyes quickly adjusting to the blackness of the night. The Hokage beside him had no trouble seeing through the dark, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as Kakashi stood silently on his right side.

She was stalling for time. Cheap tricks such as stealing sight from her opponent wasn't quite Karibi's style, but she didn't have many other options. Whatever chakra she had left, she needed to use it wisely and perform the right jutsu at the right time. That meant she needed to try and collect as much chakra as she could, but she couldn't do that with Kurenai on her tail.

Hence the lights.

Karibi held her breath as she vaguely sensed Kurenai about twenty feet to her left. Her ears twitched as she remained hidden by a large shrub, her adversary standing silently and listening carefully for any sign of her.

Although she was nervous, at least she had time to think.

The 8 year old frowned as she remained motionless in the cover of the bush. She quietly and slowly reached into her pouch that was at her hip, and carefully, she dug her hand into it and felt around to see what she had to her disposal. A wide grin came across her lips as her hands touched round orbs, and just as she began to pull them out, a twig snapped from her motions. She instantaneously froze as her eyes widened, a surge of chakra from Kurenai nearly causing her to panic.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" For just a moment, the stadium was lit by the light of the rather enormous fireball Kurenai ignited. She watched intently as her attack headed straight for Karibi's hiding place. Her red eyes tracked the younger girl's movements perfectly as Karibi narrowly missed the attack, the back of her left calf slightly burned.

"Genjutsu _and _ninjutsu?! That's almost unfair!" Karibi exclaimed helplessly, Kurenai cracking a smile for only a second.

Tumbling to the ground, Karibi winced, trying to push herself back up to her feet. Her eyes widened when she felt a hand roughly grab her by the shoulder. She coughed as she was shoved into the ground, the tip of a kunai lightly digging into her neck. Though it was a bit dark for anyone else to see, the 8 year old could make out Kurenai's face in the small distance between them as the girl pushed her into the ground.

"It's over," the 13 year old said as Karibi stared wide-eyed for a moment.

§

Kakashi's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but even still, it was hard for him to make out who was who. He could see a nimble figure on the ground with another shadow hovering over the person. He stared intently, realizing that it was Karibi who was on the ground, and although he was still boiling from what he had discovered earlier, he couldn't ignore the disappointment he felt for the young girl as he recalled the resolute tone in her voice as she pronounced her dedication to passing the exam.

It was almost a shame that she was going to lose.

Suddenly, the lights around the stadium began to flicker on one-by-one, and as they did so, Kakashi glanced over to see Natsuki balanced on top of a light on the far corner; it seemed she had lost all patience for the darkness.

As everyone finally gained back their sight, their eyes widened when they found Karibi smirking up at Kurenai, the young girl raising a brow.

"You seem a little too excited for someone who's about to lose." Karibi shook her head at that.

"That's because I'm not losing. Not tonight." Kurenai blinked before a rumbling caught her attention. She stiffened as she glanced around, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but by the time she had realized where the source of the noise was, it was too late.

A patch of the earth in front of Kurenai—just above Karibi's head—began to crumble and tear apart, and suddenly, another copy of Karibi jumped out from the ground, pushing Kurenai off of the original version. She let out a yelp as she fell back to the ground, her kunai slipping from her hand and skidding against the ground and away from her reach. The real Karibi quickly acted as her clone quickly slipped on two bracelets on to the unsuspecting girl's wrists, one for each arm. Then, the real Karibi quickly launched forward, tucking the same bracelets around Kurenai's ankles. The clone straddling the 13 year old abruptly poofed away, allowing the original to gracefully lean forward and place her hand on Kurenai's chest.

"Sealing Technique: Four Limbs Weighting Seal!" A surge of Karibi's chakra coursed through Kurenai, causing the restrained girl to gasp, her wrists and ankles suddenly heavier than they should have been.

"Wh—What!" Kurenai tugged her arms, trying to move them, but it was as if a cement block was holding them in place, and the same was for her legs. She was stuck on the ground, with Karibi grinning widely down at her as she pulled her palm away from her chest.

Breathing heavily, Karibi wiped her forehead with the back of her head, her shoulders sagging and her eyelids growing heavier; she had gone too far. She glanced up at the Hokage as he stared down at her with an awestruck expression; he wondered when Kushina had taught her that move. Tearing her gaze from her guardian's, Karibi watched as Natsuki jumped down from the light post and landed gracefully on the ground. She smirked as she nodded in approval, both genin had done well.

"Looks like we—" Natsuki stopped as she watched Karibi's eyes roll to the back of her head. The young girl went limp as she began to fall, and had the proctor not had quick reflexes, the unconscious girl would have hit the ground and received a rather severe concussion. Kurenai stared with wide eyes from her position on the ground as the small audience around them watched in awe.

"...Um..." The 28 year old wasn't sure how to call this match.

"For the moment, we'll leave the ruling of this match to-be-announced."

*_Two Weeks Later_*

Karibi groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision blurred as she winced, a warm light nearly blinding her as she tried to look around.

"So you're finally awake."

Karibi hadn't been expecting to see him.

"Ka—Kakashi." Her mind was a bit hazy, but Karibi hadn't forgotten what had happened between them before the last part of the chunin exam.

Which reminded her.

"Wait! What happened? Where am I? What about the exam?" Kakashi rolled his eye as he stood up from his seat by the window and strolled over to the bedside.

"You've been in the hospital since the end of your round. Out of technicality, Kurenai was named the winner," Kakashi explained as Karibi frowned but continued to listen. "Minato-sensei and Lord Tsuchikage announced those who passed a day after the end of the last part of the exam," the 12 year old stated quietly. "More people passed this year than any since seven years ago," Kakashi explained as Karibi's eyes widened.

"Who...Who all moved on?" The gray haired jonin eyed the recovering girl for a second before he turned his back to her and gazed out the window once more.

"Both of your teammates, Kurenai Yuhi, Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, Chiru Akimichi, Rei Fujikawa, Yosuke Zomimaru..." Karibi's heart dropped as she stared with a wounded look upon her face. Kakashi stared down at the 8 year old with his single eye before he sighed and relaxed. "And you."

Karibi had lost her breath. It had felt like her entire world had just turned upside down. Although chunin was only one step above genin, and she had far more to go before she could _t__ruly _call herself a shinobi, she was ecstatic. She had passed! Just as she said she would. She hadn't failed, she hadn't let anything get in her way. She had done just as she said she would. And although she had paid the price with her body, in the end, it had all been worth it to her.

"As exciting as this might be for you, this isn't why I came here." Karibi's happy mood completely deflated as Kakashi's crisp voice tore through the silence. He stared over his shoulder at her coldly, and at that very moment, Karibi wished she could hideaway into a dark hole; the young boy's stare was nearly burning through her.

"...Kakashi, it's not what you think..."

"Then why did you lie to Minato-sensei?"

It had been bothering him all this time. After making sure that Karibi's condition was stable and that her recovery time would be on track, Kakashi's mind had immediately began to plot different ideas as to what the truth was behind Karibi's lie. What had she been hiding? And why? She had come off as such an honest and genuine person, and although Kakashi had spoken little with her, the times that he had made him realize that if more people like Karibi existed in the world, then perhaps less people would suffer.

Perhaps he would still be able to have his friends at his side.

"Was it all a trick so you could infiltrate the village?" Kakashi inquired viciously as Karibi gazed up at him with a slight gleam of fear in her eyes. He wouldn't have been surprised if that had been her play all along. After all, she was exceptionally talented for her age, so it made sense to Kakashi.

"No, it wasn't like that!"

"Then what was it like?" He wasn't sure what had made him so angry, but the longer he looked at Karibi, the less control he had.

He had been duped. They had all been duped. He had been betrayed by someone he had—now that he thought about it—thought so highly of. She had been able to smile even after her family had been killed, and that had somehow subconsciously inspired Kakashi; it had made him want to stop lingering on the past.

But it was all a lie. Nothing but an illusion.

"Kakashi—"

"If you don't want to tell me that's one thing. But you won't be able to avoid Minato-sensei." Karibi panicked at that.

"Kakashi! Please! Don't tell—" Swirling around, the jonin glared coldly at the newly-appointed chunin.

"Why shouldn't I? Why should I protect the—"

"Because!" Karibi let her head hang low as she trembled, staring at her hands that were folded tightly in her lap. Kakashi watched her closely as she shook her head, slowly looking up to finally meet his gaze.

She had tears spilling from her eyes.

"My parents weren't killed by the Iwagakure ninja..." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. "They _sold_ me to them." And then, suddenly, Kakashi was no longer angry.

"Wh—What?"

"My mother and father were old and tired. We were always going from place-to-place...and one day we'd been caught by ninja—the ninja that Minato-niichan saved me from." Breath hitching, Karibi wiped her eyes, but it didn't seem to help; the tears kept coming. "I don't know what they said, but they had been talking with those ninja for so long. And when they came back—" Choking on a sob, Karibi covered her face. Trying to hide from Kakashi's shocked stare, the young girl quivered as she cried.

"They didn't even look at me. It was as if I was invisible to them." Just talking about it made Karibi cringe. "...They sold their own daughter...to save themselves," she whispered as she slowly pulled her hands away from her face, staring blankly down at her hands.

Kakashi couldn't have felt worse. He had been so sure of himself and so angry with Karibi. He'd been so quick to judge the girl—and he had been wrong.

"...You think they were disappointed in you?" Karibi slowly looked up to Kakashi's incredulous stare. "That's why you think they did that?" The 8 year old said nothing as she quickly averted her eyes away from Kakashi's, a feeling of shame and embarrassment engulfing her entirely.

Kakashi frowned before he spoke once more. "Why didn't you just tell Minato-sensei and Kushina—" Karibi reacted harshly just at the brief mention of telling her guardians, her eyes bulging and her body tensing.

"_Please_ don't say anything!" The jonin stared hard at Karibi as she gazed up at him, her hands somehow finding themselves holding his tightly. The young boy continued to gaze upon the redhead as she begged him with her weary eyes, her tears staining her cheeks. "I don't...I don't want them to know that about me." And Kakashi could understand that feeling—the feeling of being vulnerable and wanting to push people away before they saw and understood too much.

Kakashi stared down at Karibi's hands as they grasped his tightly. His stare softened before he slowly pulled his hand from hers, quietly making his way out of the room. He stopped by the door as he glanced at the cards and the flowers that had been left for the chunin; he had ruined her moment of celebration.

"...Congratulations." Tears now dry, Karibi blinked as she quickly looked up at the silver haired boy. He kept his back to her, but he could almost feel her smile as she stared at him.

"...Are you going to tell them the truth?" she asked quietly as Kakashi stood in the doorway of the hospital room. He didn't dare glance back at the young girl before he silently walked out, softly shutting the door. Karibi stared after him with a frown before she sighed and relaxed, leaning back on the bed and closing her eyes.

*_One Month and Two Weeks Later_*

Just as he had claimed, Kakashi hadn't said a word about what he had learned about Karibi. He had come to find that he respected her too much to betray her like that. And although it was wrong of her to keep the truth from Minato and Kushina, the jonin understood why she had done it, and because of that, he couldn't bring himself to mention it. Even if he had wanted, with all the missions that had been piling up as of late, he wouldn't have had time to say anything in the first place.

It had been a few days since Kakashi had last seen Karibi. He figured she was a tad bit busier now that she and her team were chunin. He wanted to apologize for his rash behavior. He wanted to explain that he wasn't normally so unreasonable. But he couldn't seem to swallow his pride and muster the bravery to say anything, so he left everything as was; he had left everything as it was when Karibi had left the cemetery with him.

Walking quietly down the streets of Konoha, the young shinobi strolled past Guy, Kurenai and Asuma. He didn't bother saying anything, but he nodded in their direction, acknowledging them for just a moment; it was still hard being around other people in the down state-of-mind he was in. He continued on his path, not entirely sure of where exactly he was going. He would have kept walking on-and-on had it not been for the familiar voice that called out his name.

"Kakashi-san!" Said boy stopped as he looked over his shoulder with a quirked eyebrow. He blinked as he watched Karibi run up to him, stopping a few steps away as she caught her breath.

"Karibi?" The chunin grinned as she stood upright, looking over her shoulder and making sure she hadn't completely gone ahead of Kushina.

"You've just finished your last mission, right?"

"How did you—"

"That means you're free for now, right?" Hesitantly, the 12 year old nodded.

"Then come celebrate!" He blinked, having not expected the invitation from the young girl as she smiled widely at him.

Seeing as she had fallen unconscious from over-exerting her body, Karibi never had a chance to properly celebrate her passing of the chunin exam. And once she had recovered from her exhaustion and exertion, she had been thrown into more missions with her teammates, making up for whatever lost time she had. But now that things were settling down, Minato, Kushina and Karibi finally had time to celebrate and eat.

And it seemed, so did Kakashi.

"We're going to get riceballs!" Karibi explained as Kakashi blinked, hands in his pockets. He swallowed hard as he stared into the girl's purple-hued eyes. They stood in silence for a moment as the ninja mulled the idea over in his head.

After what he had accused her off—after how disrespectful he had been to her, she still wanted Kakashi around. He wasn't even sure what she liked about him in the first place, but she enjoyed his presence, and apart of him was almost grateful. Because, someone as kind and as innocent as Karibi didn't mind being the presence of a darkened soul like Kakashi.

And in the back of his mind and heart, that gave him hope.

"...I owe you." Karibi blinked as Kakashi began walking past her to meet with Kushina and Minato, who were locked in a conversation about something or another. The young girl turned to look after the boy as he stopped and glanced over his shoulder back at her. "I owe you for skipping the last time." And then Karibi remembered when she had invited him out to eat when she had first become a genin; oh, how time flew by.

"Minato-niichan! Kushina-neechan! Look!" Both looked up and tore themselves from the conversation as they watched Karibi walk over to them with someone at her side. They blinked, having not expected to see Kakashi approaching them with her.

"Kakashi?"

"I invited him to come celebrate with us!" Karibi explained merrily as Kakashi merely nodded, a plain look on his face as always, though Minato noticed the slight gleam in his eyes as he glanced over at the young girl.

"This is exciting! I'm glad you could join us!" Kushina said with a wide smile as the jonin nodded again, not saying anything. Minato chuckled as he placed a comforting hand on the 12 year old's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Hope you don't mind riceballs. They're Karibi's favorite."

"Who doesn't like riceballs?" As Karibi led the way, Kakashi followed after her wordlessly. He glanced over at the girl as she began engaging into a conversation with Kushina—something about a cat? Kakashi said nothing as he quietly listened, and for the first time in a long time, he found himself feeling a little less hollow and a bit more whole again.

* * *

><p><strong>The end of the chunin exams arc has come! This is where things may begin to grow more serious. A turning point in the story will be coming shortly, if you will LOL I hope that this part of the story was fun and entertaining for whoever is reading. I've worked hard, and although I haven't been able to update as frequently as I would have liked, I'm still doing my best! I'll continue to work hard and I can only hope that my effort shows in the story itself. <strong>

**Thank you for reading, favoriting and following, everyone :) I appreciate you all giving this a shot and I hope you will continue to enjoy! Thanks again!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden.**

_Chapter Ten_

Some days were really good. Some days, he didn't feel regret and sorrow. Some days, he would just live and go about missions and miscellaneous tasks without harm. But then, other days, it was terrible. Other days, he'd wake up in a sweat, huffing and puffing about the nightmares that would scare him from his sleep. Other days, he would shut himself from the world around him and disappear into the darkness of his mind. But it all really depended.

It depended on one thing.

"Kashi-san?"

Since Kakashi had been transferred into the ANBU black ops, his days had grown busier and he had less and less free time to himself. He was grateful though, because that meant that he would have more to distract him from the voices in his head. But still, even the missions weren't enough. His nightmares were strong, and they never relented. It seemed that the guilt that the young boy continued to grasp on to fueled the dreams he suffered from. No one would have noticed though, for the one known as the "Cold-blooded Killer" was good at facades.

At least, no one but one.

"You look tired today." Kakashi said nothing in return as he continued to sit by the base of the tree on the training grounds. He merely looked up at the girl hanging upside down from a branch, her feet firmly stuck to the tree with her chakra. Her hair cascaded down and out of her face as she gazed at him with curiosity shining in her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Karibi?" Said chunin smiled widely before she flipped around, landing on the ground with ease.

He wasn't sure why, but any free time the young girl had, she spent it around him. He'd never invite her, he'd never ask her to join him, but she'd show up. And although he acted uninterested and neutral towards her, he never shooed her away or made her leave, so Karibi took that as a sign that she was welcome.

Taking a seat beside the 13 year old, the redhead hummed as she leaned back against the tree. Kakashi said nothing more, quietly enjoying his break from the hard training he had been doing. He stole a glance at the girl beside him every so often, knowing full well she knew he was looking; he didn't care much anymore.

"...I used to have nightmares too, you know." She had picked up that small little habit from Kushina.

Kakashi blinked as he turned his head and looked at the 9 year old. She gave him a small smile as she met his gaze. His single eye was enough to show just the amount of astonishment he was feeling, but still, he said nothing.

"It's not very good to hold things in," the young girl said as she tucked some of her hair behind her ears. "...That's what you told me." The ANBU stiffened as he then recalled the very first moment he had spoken with Karibi.

_It's important to say the things you want to say before it's too late. Bottling it up inside...it only hurts you._

Deep down inside, Kakashi knew that Karibi was only trying to help. Because she was just kind like that and thinking of others. But advice was always easier said than done. And right now, anything would be easier than to talk about the turmoil in his mind.

"...How did you know?" Karibi blinked as Kakashi tore his gaze from hers, staring down at the grass.

"How did I know what?"

"About my nightmares." The almost 10 year old stared at her companion with a gentle gaze before she shrugged her shoulders, looking up at the sky through the cracks in the leaves.

"I used to have nightmares too," she said quietly as Kakashi listened closely. "They were always so..._scary_. Sometimes I wouldn't even remember what happened, but I knew just by the way I would wake up that I had one," she explained as she chuckled and sighed.

"...I was always so tired from trying to stay awake. The last thing I wanted to do was sleep. But being stuck with the Rock ninja and sealed inside of that barrel—there was never much else for me to do." Kakashi didn't know much about what Karibi's experiences before Konoha had been like. What he knew of her was what he had learned over the time he spent with her and through reading her file. Hearing her talk about her time before Minato and Kushina and the leaf was almost a little chilling.

"Do you talk about your nightmares?" Kakashi asked with a raised brow as Karibi smiled and nodded.

"Sometimes I do. I tell Kushina-neechan almost everything. And she makes me feel better. And talking about it makes me feel better," she said. "Because then it feels like someone else understands me. It feels like I'm not alone anymore." Kakashi's eye softened as he quickly averted his gaze from the young girl's. He stared down at his right hand as his jaw clenched, his heart pounding against his chest.

"Come on!" Kakashi blinked as he found Karibi standing in front of him with her hand held out. She was grinning from ear-to-ear as she waited patiently for his response. "Be my sparring partner." The black ops member hesitated as he stared at the girl's hand. He took a silent breath before slowly reaching out and grabbing a hold of it, and as their hands clasped together, a sudden warmth coursed throughout the former jonin's body; it was almost like Karibi's kindness and hope was spreading through his entire body.

"Be ready. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're a chunin."

"What makes you so sure that I _need _you to go easy on me, Mr. Hotshot?"

"If you were as skilled as me, you would have already become a jonin by now." A ghost of a smirk was evident on the ANBU's face.

"Alright then! Whoever loses buys riceballs!"

"...Deal."

*_Three months later_*

"Thank you for coming along, Karibi."

"I'm glad to help! And anyways, I think Kushito likes being outside!"

Kushina and Karibi walked side-by-side, a nearly full-grown, white cat walking alongside the younger Uzumaki. The 9 year old wore a wide smile as she watched her pet meow, chasing after a dragonfly but not wandering too far. She locked her hands behind her back and looked up to her guardian, the older woman smiling fondly down at her before turning her attention to the path ahead.

She was nervous. She had been feeling a bit ill for the last few weeks. At first, she had thought it was something she had eaten, but when Minato and Karibi had shown no signs of discomfort, she had grown a bit anxious. So, after a few more weeks, the wife to the Hokage had finally decided to pay a visit to the hospital. Whatever was wrong with her, she wanted to find out and take care of it as soon as possible.

"Kushito! Wait!" Karibi quickly ran up to the cat as she quickly dipped down and scooped the animal into her arms, preventing her pet from being nearly trampled by a small group of children running across the street. She let out a breath of relief before rubbing the cat behind his ear. "Silly. Can't have you getting run-over, now can we?" Kushina smiled widely before they approached the entrance of the hospital.

"Wait out here, alright? I'll be right out when my appointment is done," the woman assured; there were no animals allowed in the hospital. Karibi smiled and nodded before she took a seat on the bench and waited for Kushito to adjust in her lap. He curled up and rested his head against his paws before purring and closing his eyes. The young girl smiled before she watched Kushina disappear inside the building. She waited for several minutes, and after about twenty minutes, her guardian came out with a wide grin and blushed cheeks.

"Kushina-neechan?" Said woman snapped out of her stupor before she turned to Karibi, who was staring at her with a confused look on her face.

"O—Oh, it's nothing!" Kushina said as she waved her hand. "Let's head back! I'm sure Minato is already waiting for us."

"Ok!" Karibi led the way, and as she did so, Kushina's thoughts began to race.

She was pregnant. She was six weeks along, and from what the doctor had told her, she would be due in October. In hindsight, Kushina probably should have considered that as a possibility as to why she was feeling so haggard and sick lately. But now that she knew, she was beyond happy; she was thrilled. But even though she couldn't be happier, she was a bit worried.

Since Karibi had come into their lives, Kushina, Minato and the young girl had become their own little family. Although Kushina and Karibi were related in some, distant way, they were closer than that. They had raised her since she had arrived to the village, and they had grown extremely close since she began to finally open up to them. But she wondered what the dynamic would be like now that she was pregnant. Karibi was still an important part of their lives, but would she grow insecure? Would she feel isolated with a new baby coming into their lives? The last thing Kushina wanted was for Karibi to feel abandoned or alone; after the girl losing her parents, Minato and Kushina had been sure to show her that they were there for her.

"Hey, Karibi!" The young girl looked to her left, Kurenai stepping out from the dumpling shop with Guy and Asuma behind her. The two boys smiled over at her, the redhead grinning.

After passing the chunin exam, Karibi's group of friends had expanded. Although she had spent only a little bit of time with him, she was closest with Kakashi, but then there were Hayase and Hana. And after the exam, Kurenai had reached out to her, congratulating the young girl and inviting her out to eat with her and her friends; that as when she had met Guy and Asuma. Since then, Karibi found herself feeling even more at home in Konoha. She now had a group of people she cared about and wanted to protect. And now she was officially a chunin of the village, her sense of duty rose for her village and for her friends and family.

"What are you doing?" the redhead inquired curiously as she opened her arms, allowing her cat to hop down to the ground and rub against her leg.

"We were just about to train. You want to come along?" the red-eyed girl asked, the three quickly taking notice to Kushina and then bowing out of respect. The woman chuckled as she smiled and nodded to the kids. Karibi looked back at her for permission, and without having to say a word, Kushina granted it; it was nice seeing the young girl mingling with others now.

"Who wants to fight me first?"

"Me!" Guy jumped forward with his hand held up high, Karibi grinning and nodding her head as she began walking off with the other three, her cat following her. Kushina gazed after the 9 year old before she sighed and turned back in the direction she had originally been walking in; she had wonderful news to give to Minato.

*_Two Weeks Later_*

"Kushina's pregnant."

Kakashi had been utterly shocked. Not because his sensei's wife was pregnant, but because his sensei felt the need to tell _him_. His job from the Hokage was to watch over the woman and keep her safe and in-check during the months that she would be carrying her new baby. The ANBU's job was to make sure no harm reached her or her belly, and to report any suspicious activity to Minato if there was any at all. But why him? Of all the qualified ninja for the job, why was it him? After all of his failures—after all the lives he had failed to save, why would Minato give him the serious duty of protecting Kushina?

Sitting on the snowy rooftop, Kakashi gazed up at the gray sky through his cat mask as the snowflakes fell. Kushina and Minato were currently inside, seeking refuge from the chill, though the one watching over them felt nothing; he was numb. He had been keeping a close eye on the Hokage's wife for a few days now, and the one thing that he had discovered during those days was interesting.

They had yet to tell Karibi the truth.

Kakashi was far too young and naive to really understand why it was Kushina and Minato were keeping the pregnancy a secret from Karibi. Or perhaps it was Kushina and Minato who were the naive ones—convincing themselves that the young girl's heart would be shattered if she learned he truth. They only wanted to protect her and keep her safe, and although Kakashi had assumed as much, he was still confused; he imagined the joy Karibi would feel from the news, and it _nearly_ made him smile.

After keeping the truth from the young girl for a few weeks, Minato and Kushina had finally agreed that it was time for them to speak up. Karibi had gone on a mission with her team and Riku-sensei and wasn't due back until later that afternoon. Having finished his paperwork and meetings early, Minato had returned home and spent the day with his wife. Her belly had yet to show, but the blond could already feel the new presence within his lovely bride.

After a few hours of relaxing, the door to their home opened and in came Karibi, flakes of snow covering her from head-to-toe. She grinned up at her guardians, her cheeks slightly reddened from the bitter wind outside. "I'm back!"

"Welcome home!" Kushina smiled brightly at the 9 year old as she stood up from the couch and grabbed a towel, patting the girl dry. Minato stood as well as he placed his hands in his pockets, watching the pair with a fond smile of his own; they truly were a family.

"It was good! Riku-sensei said we could head home while she reported our missions," Karibi explained, finally taking notice to the man behind Kushina.

"Minato-niichan? You're home early," she pointed out innocently as the Yellow Flash chuckled and nodded.

"There was something Kushina and I wanted to tell you, and I thought it was best if we did it as soon as we had the chance," he began as Karibi frowned; they seemed nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong," Kushina assured with a soft smile. "It's just...well..."

Kakashi sighed as his cloak covered his entire body, shielding him from the crisp, winter air. He twirled a kunai with his fingers thoughtlessly for a few moments. After a few seconds of silence, a shrill shriek shattered everything, Kakashi jerking and his breath hitching in the back of his throat. He acted on instinct, jumping down from the roof and landing right by the window, and before he could come bursting in, he stopped himself, staring through the glass. He breathed deeply for a few seconds before calming down, his shoulders sagging and a light and quiet chuckle escaping his lips; it had been a long time since that had happened.

Through the window, Kakashi could see Karibi jumping for joy with the widest grin upon her face; so they had finally told her.

"Oh! Yay!" the chunin yelled as she continued to jump, having finished giving each of her guardians a tight and warm hug. She clapped her hands together as Minato let out a hearty laugh, Kushina grinning along with the girl. "I can't believe it! I'm so happy! A baby! Is it boy? Is it a girl? Did you pick out a name?"

"It's too soon for all of that, although we have been thinking about names," Kushina said playfully as she glanced over at her husband, the man's laughter simmering down to a chortle.

"We're really relieved to see you so happy about this, Karibi," the blond said gently as he knelt down on one knee. "You're going to be a great big sister, won't you?" Karibi paused as she stared at Minato before looking up at Kushina. They gazed down patiently at her with gentle expressions, an eye watching her from outside carefully.

"A big sister..." she whispered before she slowly began to grin. She laughed as she pulled the two into another hug before she nodded her head. "I promise I'll be the best big sister there ever was, you know!" She'd remember those words and resent herself later.

As the ANBU watched from outside, he'd forgotten about the snow and about the cold breeze. He ignored the voices in his head and the demons grasping on to his ankles and pulling him into the darkness, for there was nothing like the sight of Karibi's genuine happiness. And as he watched the young girl as she carefully placed her hands on the woman's flat belly, he couldn't help but wear a solemn expression.

In a world so dark and cold, there were still people who could shine brightly.

*_Two Months Later_*

The weather was growing warmer, though it was still chilly. The snow was beginning to melt away, though there was still patches of white here and there throughout the village. As people went about their business, two redheads walked beside each other, the older one of the pair stopped to pick out a few things at a small shop, the young girl waiting patiently at her side as she hummed to herself. All the while, a single eye watched carefully from a dark corner, though it didn't seem to matter.

Catching his gaze, Karibi smiled and waved, Kakashi sighing before he disappeared into the darkness of the alley. He shook his head but continued to follow after the pair, watching as Karibi giggled at something Kushina had said. After a bit more shopping, the two finally began to make their way back home, the silver haired ninja not too far behind. After waiting for the two to walk through the threshold of their home, the silent 13 year old jumped up to the roof with ease, not even a single squeak coming from him. And there, he sat, guarding them with his full attention.

"Karibi? What's that?" Said girl blinked as she looked up, pouring hot water from the kettle into a mug.

"Tea!"

"You don't drink tea," Kushina pointed out with a suspicious look as the little girl.

"It's—It's—It's cold outside, and what better way to warm up!" Not saying another word, Karibi began to make her way to her bedroom, tossing a sheepish smile over her shoulder at Kushina before she shut her door. The woman placed her hands on her hips before she glanced up and smiled softly, shrugging and turning her attention to the couch; it looked rather comfy.

§

"Here!" Kakashi blinked, opening his visible eye and looking up. His pupil constricted as he noticed a steaming mug behind held out in front of his face. He then met a pair of amethyst eyes, raising a brow.

"What is this?"

"Poison. What do you think?" Karibi rolled her eyes as she continued to hold the cup out to Kakashi, who eyed the mug before taking the handle and nodding to her. She smiled before taking a seat, hugging herself; she had forgotten her jacket and was only left in her white, short-sleeved shirt and brown pants.

"So, did you hear about Kushina-neechan? Of course you probably did! Why else would you be here watching over her?" she asked excitedly as Kakashi glanced a her before nodding.

"You must be excited."

"I am!" Karibi said with a grin. "Kushina-neechan and Minato-niichan will be great parents, don't you think?" Kakashi didn't say anything right at first. His mind wandered to the memory of his own father, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment.

"...Kashi-san?"

"Hmm?" The young boy looked up from his mug before meeting Karibi's concerned expression.

"What is it?" she asked as the ANBU hesitated.

There were thoughts in his head that always ran rampant. And although he was getting better with his nightmares and managing his guilt, there were still times where he'd revert back to the same stress he would feel before. There were still times where his thoughts would get the best of him and try to tear him to pieces. And although he wanted to be happy for his sensei and his wife, and even for Karibi, there was a part of him that didn't know how to be.

"...Don't you worry?" Karibi blinked as Kakashi spoke, his voice low and his expression dull and sorrowful.

"Worry about what?"

"Don't you worry that...this new baby is going to suffer?" Karibi's eyes widened, the girl forgetting momentarily about the chill that was going down her back. "This world—it's so full of people who are selfish and full of hatred. Don't you worry that this new baby will be born and suffer." Suffer like _they _had suffered.

Karibi smiled softly at Kakashi before she carefully reached out and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. He slowly looked up and met her gaze, relaxing at the way she looked at him—so kindly and so honestly. That was what made it so easy for him to say what he wanted to Karibi. There was no judgment, no prying, and no trying to fix him. She merely listened. She listened and she tried to understand him. And for someone being so young, she truly did understand the kind of pain he felt. And although she didn't know specifically what kind of pain it was that he was going through, she knew that he was hurting, and that was what mattered.

"This new baby won't suffer, Kakashi," Karibi assured as she nodded. "I don't think Minato-niichan and Kushina-neechan would let that happen," she stated evenly as Kakashi stared for a moment before recomposing himself and nodding.

"And you want to know something else?" The ANBU raised a brow, humoring the young girl as she smiled widely and leaned close to him. "I don't think you'll let this baby suffer either." Kakashi heart nearly came to a stop. He froze as he stared out at the village from the rooftop, Karibi smiling softly at him before she sighed and nodded.

"Boy or girl, this baby is going to be very loved," the 9 year old stated with a confident smile.

And in the end, she had been right about that.

Kakashi looked over at Karibi as she smiled out at nothing in particular. She kept her arms around herself, trying to shield herself from the coldness. It didn't seem like she was going to be leaving any time soon, and so, the shinobi stood to his feet, catching the girl's attention. She watched him curiously as he tugged his cloak off and dropped it on to her shoulders unceremoniously. She blinked and watched as he took a seat back down beside her, now merely in his standard ANBU uniform.

With a smile, Karibi pulled the cloak tightly around herself, feeling far warmer all over. She never noticed the way Kakashi looked back at her, his eyes lingering on her smile.

* * *

><p><strong>I've found that I'm moving rather quickly with writing this story. I'm actually going to be posting another chapter of this today since I have the time and I have it finished up! We're moving into Kushina's pregnancy! Naruto is on his way! Now you all just have to see what happens next...who knows how this is all going to play out!<strong>

**As usual, thank you for reading, following, favoriting and supporting this story :) It all is truly appreciated! **

**Reviews:**

**Kit: **Hi Kit! First, I would like to take the time to say thanks for reading all of this story! I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to do so. Now, I'm going to clear up some confusion. Kakashi was not 13 with Obitio and Rin. If you do the math, he was 26 years old in the beginning of Naruto, and then 12 years before, when the Nine Tails struck, he was 14, which was well past when Obito and Rin died. He was younger than his teammates, and when he was 13 when he became an Anbu member, which is still past the time in which Obito and Rin died. I made sure to do the math correctly with his age on this one! But thank you for your attempt of correcting me! It's difficult without an actual timeline (Kishimoto should really look into making one XD). Also, I did warn readers that this was going to be a slower moving story. Sorry that it's not quite to your liking, but like I said, it's all coming! Kushina is now pregnant and we all know what happens after that...And Rin dying, well that's always just a depressing thought. Anywho! Sorry to ramble away, thank you for reading! Hope the confusion has been fixed! Thanks again!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. Only Karibi, Hayase, and Riku!**

_Chapter Eleven_

"Kushina-neechan! Let me do it!" Said woman sighed with a smile as she watched the 10 year old quickly grab the heavy boxes for the baby's room. Karibi grinned as she carried them with ease, moving them into the future nursery that was being decorated for the coming child.

Now that there were only a few months left until Kushina gave birth, the home was busy as well as Minato. He was putting the room together and keeping up with all of his duties as the Hokage as well as husband and guardian. Thankfully, having Karibi around at the house while she was free from missions made things easier for the man. Not to mention he still had Kakashi watching their every move; yes, Minato could rest easy.

"I'm pregnant, Karibi, not helpless," Kushina joked as the young girl shook her head adamantly, setting the boxes down on the floor of the newly painted room. She smiled widely as she turned back around to her guardian and placed her hands gently on her protruding belly.

"I promised Minato-niichan that I would take care of you! So I'm going to take care of you!" The wife of the Fourth Hokage chuckled as she nodded her head, watching as Karibi moved carefully around her and exited the room.

"Where are you going now?"

"It's lunch time!" The young redhead grabbed a small, brown paper bag of food from the counter before she made her way to her room, shutting the door. Kushina stared after her for a moment before she giggled and crossed her arms.

§

"Kashi-san!" Said ANBU let out an exasperated breath as he watched from his perch on the roof, his usual companion jumped up and landed safely a few feet away from him. He watched as she strolled up to him with a bag in her hand. "Hungry?"

"This mission is supposed to be more inconspicuous than this," Kakashi pointed out with a cocked up brow as Karibi shrugged, taking a seat beside him as she handed him the bag.

"Then maybe you should be better at your job," she shot back with a wily smile, Kakashi scoffing before he opened the bag and blinked.

"Your favorite!"

"You made this?"

"Oh, no. Kushina-neechan made it!"

"You hate eggplant."

"Yeah, well I told Kushina-neechan I was in the mood for some, so be thankful," Karibi snapped, though there was little bite in her words. Kakashi merely nodded as he opened the container of soup and pulled off his ANBU mask, Karibi watching him with her knees pulled up to her chest. She rested her chin on her knee cap as she smiled happily.

They had spent almost every day together since the news of Kushina's pregnancy. He was with them day-and-night, and when Karibi had the free time, she would join him outside. No one questioned what it was she did when she went into her room and disappeared for hours, but more than likely, she was sitting with Kakashi.

The young man had found that Karibi had a way of getting things out of him without even trying. She would tell him something, and in return, he would say something back, and before he knew it, she knew almost everything about him; his favorite color, food, hobbies, music—everything. Granted, there were some things that he kept to himself, but for the most part, he felt comfortable enough with the young girl to let her past some of the walls he had built over the years. It was nice, to have someone he could be lax around. She was relaxed with him and didn't expect anything out of him, other than for him to be himself. And although he was still trying to work out the pieces of who that really was, being around the 10 year old helped.

As for Karibi, well, being around Kakashi had been natural for her. She looked up to him—was inspired by him. He was strong and loyal, and that only drove her to want to be just as he was. She wanted to be someone who could keep up with him and proudly stand at his side. He had been the first person—other than Minato and Kushina—that had really reached out to her, and though there was a lingering darkness that loomed over him, she found that it would dissipate the more time she spent with him. And that was a relief, because there were times where she thought he would lose himself. And she couldn't have that, not when they were becoming such good friends.

"You know, Guy has been asking about you." Kakashi nearly rolled his eye, but he remained neutral as he finished the last of his food with his head turned, exposed face away from Karibi's sight. And just as he finished, he pulled his mask back over his mouth and nose, his companion taking the container from him. He nodded a thanks to her before he stretched, shrugging at her statement.

"Guy does a lot of things."

"He's been begging for another rematch for something," Karibi stated as she watched Kakashi shrug again.

"He always wants a rematch."

"You should do it then," Karibi suggested as she leaned back against her hands. "How long has it been since you've last spent time with everyone?" Kakashi wasn't quite sure when the young girl had become so well-acquainted with his friends, but it seemed they all rather enjoyed her company, so he didn't care.

"I'm not sure. Why does it matter?"

"It matters because they're your friends," the 10 year old pointed out as Kakashi sighed.

"I've been busy, as you can see." Karibi laughed at that.

"That whole 'I'm an ANBU and I'm super busy with missions all the time' thing isn't going to work on me," Karibi stated, Kakashi shaking his head.

"What does me seeing Guy have anything to do with you?" Kakashi asked, and though it had sounded cold and mean, he had only been curious.

Karibi frowned as she sat up, shooting the 13 year old a hurt stare. "Because."

"Because?"

"Because I'm your friend and I'm allowed to worry about you." That had caught him off guard.

"Worry?"

"...Don't you ever get lonely?" Kakashi's gaze softened as Karibi frowned at him. "You've been here for almost over seven months. And other than me, you don't have any other company," she said gently. Kakashi didn't say much at first. He thought about her words and the truth behind them.

Yes, he hadn't spoken much with anyone else in quite some time. But that was no different than usual. After Obito and Rin's passing, he had less of an urge to be around others. He was so consumed by his disappointment and by his rage and by his sorrow and even shame, that he didn't have much of a will to be around people; he didn't want them to see him like the way he was.

But then there was Karibi. He spent most of his time with Karibi now. But that was different, he supposed. They understood each other on a different level. Sometimes neither of them had to say anything to know what the other was thinking or feeling. She trusted him with all of her heart—he knew that. And in some way, it was hard not to be able to trust someone back who trusted you so much. And he had seen her at her weakest moment—at her breaking point. So, he guessed that if she was comfortable enough to share that with him, he could at least try to do the same.

And anyways, she wasn't always pestering him for a fight.

"...For someone as cheery as you, you tend worry a lot." Karibi chuckled at that as Kakashi sighed.

"I guess rematching Guy wouldn't be so bad. Just another win under my belt." Kakashi's expression may have been blank, but the smirk was in his voice.

With a grin, Karibi stood to her feet, stretching and reaching her arms high up to the sky. "I'm off then! I promised Haya-chan and Hana a good spar today," she said as the ANBU nodded. He watched as she began to walk away, when suddenly, he surprised himself by calling her name.

"Karibi." Said girl stopped as she looked back at her friend with a raised brow. He stared at her for a moment before his expression softened. "It's not so lonely."

Realizing what he was trying to say, the 10 year old gave him a wide smile before she nodded, hopping down from the rooftop. And for the rest of the day, a wide smile was plastered to her lips.

*_Two Months Later_*

"Is there a reason why you dragged me along for this?"

"Hush, Haya-chan! Kushina-neechan is so close to bursting and needs to rest, Hana said she was busy and Kurenai is spending the day with Asuma."

"So I was your _fourth _best option?"

"Well, Guy was busy too..."

Karibi dragged Hayase down the street by his wrist as he glowered, a tired and bored expression on his face. He had been tricked by his teammate to come out; she had told him she was going to by him lunch, and instead, she was pulling him around like he was a dog on a chain. And even though she had said that she would buy him lunch after they were finished up with whatever strange task the girl had, Hayase knew in the back of his mind that she was just saying that to quiet him down.

_He _was the one always buying _her _food.

"What the hell are we looking for again?"

"I already told you!" Karibi shot her teammate a sour look as she walked into a small shop, a bell ringing above their heads. The young boy rubbed the back of his head as he watched Karibi venture further into the dingy shop, and as she did so, the man at the counter in the back of the store jerked awake from his little nap.

"We—Welcome!" he called out as Karibi smiled to him and bowed her head.

"Good morning!"

"Karibi, why did you have to drag me out here so early?" Hayase whined as the girl shot him a glare.

"If I have to explain this to you one more time, I think I might have to punch you."

"You're resorting to violence? This must be serious," the spiky haired chunin joked as his fellow teammate stuck her tongue out at him.

"Look, if you're going to keep pestering me, then I'll do this alone!"

"I don't get it," the young man of Team 2 said as he scoffed. "You didn't get me anything for my birthday."

"You _forgot _my birthday."

"...Alright, fine." Hayase finally relented as he began to search through the small shelves of the store.

Karibi had shown up at his front door and after his mother had let her in, she had stormed into his room while he slept and intruded on his sleep. He was a rather late sleeper when he had the chance to be, and seeing as he and his teammates had been thrown into mission-after-mission, he wanted to take advantage of the one day he was free and sleep until his heart was content.

But then Karibi had appeared and ruined everything.

"What exactly are we looking for?"

"Well...what would you want if Hana bought you something?" Immediately, Hayase's cheeks began to redden as he snapped his head in the 10 year old's direction, gapping at her as if she had just shouted out his deepest, darkest secret.

"Wh—Wh—What are you talking about?" Karibi stopped sifting though books as she turned to give her friend a knowing look from across the store. She placed her hands on her hips as she smirked, Hayase staring at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, Haya-chan! Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he snapped as he quickly turned back around, fiddling with a hat he had found. He heard Karibi giggle, and he instantly wished he was back in his room with the covers over his head.

Like a shadow clone, Karibi suddenly appeared at Hayase's side, causing him to jump as he yelped at her. She gave the boy a spritely grin as she leaned against the counter with the hat-stand. "Haya-chan. You don't have to pretend with me." The young boy stared at his teammate stubbornly at first before his expression began to relax and his shoulders drooped. He sighed before rubbing his face with his hands before he nodded his head; Karibi was so good at getting him to talk, even when he tried so hard to pretend like there was truly nothing to talk about.

"..._Swear _you won't say anything to her." Karibi began to giggle profusely, making Hayase cringe. "Karibi!"

"I know, I know!" she assured as she pat his back. "I won't say! But really, I need you to imagine a gift that you would like to receive from Hana so I can use that for inspiration."

"...Wait a second..." The reels in the 12 year old's head began to twist and turn. He narrowed his eyes as he eyed Karibi carefully, the young girl innocently sorting through scarves; perhaps she could buy one for the occasion. "Asking for a guy's opinion...asking me what _I _would want _Hana_ to get me?" He began to laugh as he pointed a finger at her; this time, it was Karibi's turn to blush.

"Are you trying to get a present for that no-good Hatake?" Karibi shot a look at her teammate at that.

"Don't call him that," she snapped. "And maybe I am." Hayase gapped before he began to laugh once more, holding his stomach as it began to cramp.

"Oh, man! This is great!" Karibi glared at her friend as he wiped a tear from his eye. "You like the guy that much? From what I've heard, he's been known to act sort of like an as—"

"You don't know him," Karibi defended as she turned and began to sift through more random things. "He's not like what people say...well, maybe he is _a little_. But there's more to him than that," she stated as her gaze softened. "...He's kind." He had been her first friend, after all.

Hayase stared at Karibi for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. "If it means that much to you—I think I might have an idea." Karibi's expression brightened completely as she wrapped her arms around her teammate's neck.

"Haya-chan! I knew you wouldn't let me down!"

With a tired sigh, the young boy nodded. "Let's go. The sooner I do this, the sooner I can go back to sleep."

§

It was dark now, and although Kushina was safe and sound inside, there was someone else who was still missing.

Kakashi gazed out at the village from the rooftop of Minato's home, and as he did so he tried to keep a blank expression. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting almost impatiently for the chunin to return back to her home. In usual instances, Kakashi was able to keep an eye on both of them, seeing as they spent most of their time together, but there were days where Karibi went about her own business or where the ANBU would have to follow Kushina elsewhere; his original mission was to protect the jinchuriki. Still, it was growing later and later, and the 10 year old was usually rather meticulous about being home on time.

Waiting with his arms crossed over his chest, the shinobi narrowed his eyes, trying to ward off the slight irritation he felt; if there was one thing about Karibi he knew, it was that she could be reckless when she wanted to be.

"Kashi-san!" Speak of the devil.

Turning around, Kakashi raised a brow as he gazed at Karibi, the girl smiling widely as she held her hands behind her back. He gave her a suspicious look as he glanced up at the night sky. "You're late."

"I didn't realize I had a strict curfew," she shot back playfully, continuing to smile as the gray haired boy before her rolled his eye.

"What are you up to?" he asked slowly as the girl began to chuckle before she skipped up to him. She stopped a step away, breaching farther into his personal space than anyone had in a long time. He blinked in an almost innocent way as Karibi continued to smile happily at him before she spoke.

"Don't you know?"

"...Know what?"

"You can't be that dim-witted!"

"Who taught you to talk to your elders like that?"

Without a second thought, the redhead pulled her arms out from behind her back, and as she did so, she held tightly to a small box in her hands. The ANBU in front of her blinked as he stared down at it, having not expected it at all.

"What is this?" Karibi frowned before she grabbed Kakashi's hand and held his palm out. She set the wrapped box in his hand, closing his fingers around it and holding his hand in hers.

"Happy birthday!" Today was the day Kakashi turned 14.

Eyes widening, the young man gazed down at the small, rectangular box. He gazed at it for a few seconds, taking note of how neatly it had been wrapped and just how perfect the shining silver bow was. All the while, Karibi watched him closely for a reaction, her eyes catching every movement—every twitch he made.

"...Aren't you going to open it?" Kakashi blinked, snapping out of his stupor, and looked up to Karibi as she stared at him with an excited glimmer in her amethyst eyes. He turned his attention back to the gift in his hands before he began to hold it with both hands.

"How did you even know it was my birthday today?"

"Of course I know!" the young girl exclaimed. "Minato-niichan was disappointed he couldn't do anything for you. He's going to be stuck in his office until late. And obviously, Kushina-neechan needs to get rest," she explained as Kakashi looked down the the wrapped box.

"I wanted to get you something in the spirit of things!" That was when Kakashi broke.

"...Why?" Karibi faltered as she heard the fragile tone in his low voice.

"Wh—What do you mean?"

"...Why are you doing all of this?" It wasn't that he disliked Karibi. It was the fact that he truly enjoyed having her around that was truly killing him. His days seemed brighter—better with her with him. He forgot about the darkness that lingered in his mind, and the ache in his heart for all of the things that had been stripped away from him lessened with each passing day. But it was all terrifying. Because the more Karibi stuck around, the more comfortable he would get. And the more comfortable he became, the tighter he would hold on to her. And he knew exactly what would happen then.

Just like everyone else, she would be ripped from his clutches.

"Kakashi, it's just a birthday present—"

"But it's not _just _the birthday present," he snapped as his composure began to crumble. "It's the lunches, it's the late nights, it's the early mornings—it's the days you choose to spend with me rather than with your friends."

"But you are my friend—"

"No!" he shouted. "No, I'm not!" Karibi stared at him with wide eyes as she took a step away from him, withdrawing from him like someone would after burning their finger. The 14 year old trembled with rage and despair as he squeezed tightly to the present in his hand.

"I don't have any friends!"

"Yes you do—"

"No! No I don't because in the end, I just kill them all!" And there it was. Out in the open for everyone to see. And as Kakashi unraveled before Karibi, he couldn't have felt more pathetic. Because she had merely been trying to be herself—trying to do a kind and generous thing for him, but it was just too much. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve the gift or the food or her time. He was a killer, a _monster_.

And each kind gesture from the young girl was tearing him apart from the inside-out.

Karibi stared at Kakashi as his entire body shook, his head hanging low and his eyes drawn to the ground. She could hear the box in his hand crumpling, but she paid no attention to that.

At first, she wanted to runaway. His words had been like the edge of a kunai against her skin; they had stung. But the more she stared at Kakashi, the more she realized just how much like a wounded dog he resembled. He was shaking all over, and his eye was wide—pupil constricted. His breathing was rather forced and she could see the hinges in his mind falling out. And in that very second, instead of leaving him and letting him fend for himself, all she wanted to do was help him.

And so she would.

"...Kakashi?" Karibi called out gently, said ninja shaking his head at that. "...Kakashi, you're not a monster," she said as she took a step towards him. She flinched as he took a step away from her, holding his hand out and motioning for her to stay away from him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me," he said quietly as the girl quickly shook her head.

"Please, don't—"

"Thank you for the gift." As the masked ninja began to turn away, Karibi panicked. Her eyes widened before she used her chakra to quickly appear at Kakashi's side. Without thinking, the redhead reached out and grabbed the birthday boy's hand, pulling him back.

"Just wait!" she snapped, nearly losing her temper. She huffed and puffed, Kakashi gazing back at her with a slightly wide-eyed look. She gripped tightly to his hand as she shook her head. "If you were really a monster, I would not be your friend..." Karibi stared at the 14 year old's profile as he stared at his feet, avoiding her stare.

"I remember it perfectly, you know," she said quietly as Kakashi's jaw clenched. "Those boys were being so mean and cruel...and then you jumped down and you drove them away, and you know what?" she asked as the young man slowly looked up and met her soft and warm gaze.

"...What?"

"You were the one who made me braver." Kakashi's voice was lost as Karibi grinned at him. "Those things you said—I'll never forget them," she said as she nodded.

"...I know that it was your mission to follow me, but helping me? Giving me the courage to finally open up to Minato-niichan and Kushina-neechan? You did that on your own." Kakashi gazed at Karibi as she smiled, giving his hand a squeeze. "...To know what is right and choose to ignore it, that's the act of a coward...a true monster. You are _n__ot _that." Karibi stared hard at her friend as he looked away.

Those words would ring in his mind until the end of his days.

"You have no idea," the boy said darkly as he shook his head, yanking his hand away. "The things I've done..." Karibi grimaced as the silver haired ninja closed his eye.

"...Whatever happened in your past...I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I don't know everything, and maybe I never will...but what I do know is you can't keep holding on to what was." Kakashi stared at the ground with a solemn gaze as Karibi stared intently at his back. "If you keep looking back on the mistakes you made in the past, you will never learn for the future. And you will regret that, Kakashi. Because you're better than this." Karibi was so sure of herself as she spoke, and it made Kakashi want to believe in her words.

"You deserve more credit than you give yourself," she stated evenly. "The fact that you've held on to this guilt for so long—that you've beat yourself up for the past for this long, this _proves _you aren't a monster." Karibi hoped that what she said reached him.

And it had.

Staring at his feet for a few seconds longer, Kakashi's gaze slowly fluttered to the slightly smashed box in his hand. He began to relax before he untied the crumpled bow, pulling open the squashed top of the box. His onyx eyes widened as he slowly pulled out a silver chain from the box, holding it up and staring at the dog-tag on it. It glimmered brightly from the street lights and stars, and as he gazed upon it with the utmost awe, Karibi couldn't help but smile.

As if nothing had happened, the chunin stepped up to Kakashi's side with a genuine smile. He continued to stare at his present before Karibi spoke up. "Do you like it? Haya-chan helped me pick it out," she explained as the ANBU's gaze softened before he turned his head to the right to look at his companion. He smiled and nodded as he carefully pulled the necklace around his neck, holding the tag with his name engraved on it. His eyes softened before he looked up and smiled underneath his mask; it was small and almost unnoticeable, but Karibi could just make it out.

"...Thank you." Kakashi watched as Karibi nodded

"You're welcome!"

And although there had been a lot left unsaid, and a lot of things that were still unsettled, it was alright. Kakashi figured that he and Karibi would deal with it when the time came.

Together.

* * *

><p><strong>Just like I said, I'm here with another update today! Thought I would get it posted before the holidays, seeing as I'm not positive when I'll be able to actually update again. I think this is the first chapter where these two fall into a bit of a dispute, which is a bit different for them, but I think it's well needed! Everyone fights, even if its with their closest friends. I think people that are close tend to fight, not the most, but the hardest, if that makes any sense LOL Things will begin to unravel soon, and once that happens, there will definitely be more NarutoKaribi action as well as Kakashi/Karibi action, so just hold on to your seats!**

**And like usual, thank you for reading, following, favoriting this story :) It is all very appreciated, and I hope my hard work will show through the writing!**

**Reviews: **

**Juliedoo: **Hello! I'm glad to see you've been reading and I'm happy to hear that you like the relationship development between Kakashi and Karibi. I know it's a bit slow, but like many say, all good things come to those who wait XD When I picture Karibi, I picture her being a very bright person, so when she hears good news, I picture her having a very enthusiastic reaction, and at her age, anyone who is like that is always adorable LOL Being able to see a snippet of Minato and Kushina being happy is always heartwarming...unfortunately, we all know how it ends :( If only life wasn't so cruel! Hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you will read and like what I have planned in the future! Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or events that are linked to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Twelve_

"Thank you for protecting Kushina." Kakashi's duty was finally finished. It was close to the date in which the jinchuriki would be induced, and all had been well. The Anbu had been sure to keep a close eye on the woman, and throughout the months that had passed, no harm had come to her.

Her _or _the 10 year old staying with her.

"It's usual for ninja directly under the order of Sandaime to take over the guard during the birthing period," Minato explained to his former student, the 14 year old slowly nodding.

"Then I'll be returning to my regular duties." The Fourth shook his head with a light smile.

"There's no reason to rush. Why don't you take a break?" Kakashi had been working hard, and he had spent all of his time for the last several months watching over Kushina; he deserved time to himself.

"That's not necessary."

"No need to be modest, Kakashi," Minato said playfully as said young man scoffed. "We all deserve a break here and there. You've earned it." And anyways, just by looking at him, the Hokage could see that he had been doing much better these last few months. He wanted Kakashi to be able to mingle with his friends again and integrate himself back into Konoha life—even if it was only a tiny bit.

Every bit mattered.

After a moment of silence, Kakashi slowly nodded his head. He carefully reached up to his porcelain mask and pulled it off, his former sensei not hiding his pleased smile.

"Thank you."

§

"It's not fair!"

"Karibi—"

"I should get to be there!"

"You don't want to be there. I don't want to ruin your childhood."

"But that's _m__y _little brother!" Karibi was less than pleased.

The time had finally come for Kushina to have her baby, and although the Burgundy haired girl was more than thrilled for her guardian, she had just been informed that no one other than Sandaime's wife and Minato were welcome. It was so secretive and serious that only a tiny handful of people knew about it. And no matter how much Karibi insisted she wanted to be there, nothing seemed to get through to anyone. And so, she begrudgingly let bygones be bygones.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to complain.

Kushina chuckled at the girl who was very much like her younger sister and daughter lumped into one person. She smiled brightly as they walked down the dirt path of the forest; although Kushina had been strictly instructed to stay home, she had been able to sneak out for a bit.

"Karibi?"

"What is it, neechan?" The woman smiled as she stopped, the pair now standing in the middle of a clearing. She gazed up at her guardian with curiosity gleaming in her eyes, the pregnant woman taking a moment to catch her breath; even walking had become a bit difficult in her current state.

"Before I leave today, I want to teach you something."

"Teach me something? _Now_?" Karibi blinked.

"That's right!"

"What is it?" The young girl couldn't lie and say she wasn't at all intrigued by what Kushina was offering.

A serious expression suddenly came over Kushina's face as she gazed into Karibi's eyes. The chunin stared back just as composed, though inside, she was a bit nervous; Kushina was never usually this quiet when she trained her. So, whatever she was about to show Karibi—that meant it was something important and something big.

"You remember what me and Minato explained to you—that I'm a jinchuriki, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you remember what it means to be a jinchuriki, right?"

"Of course. I'd never forget." Kushina smiled softly.

"Well...there's something I want to teach you, for the future," the woman explained as Karibi nodded. "Something I hope you'll never have to use...but it will come in handy!"

Unknown to either of them, so began Karibi's very last lesson with Kushina.

§

_Kushina-neechan sure was being strange today. _Karibi walked through the village alone, having dropped Kushina back off at home—where a not-very-pleased Biwako had been waiting for them. The young girl glanced up at the darkening sky before she pouted, still lingering on the thought that she was unable to be present in such an important moment for Minato and Kushina. She frowned before tucking a piece of her long hair behind her ear. And just as she did that, she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Kari-chan!" Knowing only a few people called her by that name, the 10 year old stopped and looked over her shoulder, grinning as her friend in green began to approach her quickly. "Help!"

"Guy-chan, what's—" Karibi paused before she smiled even wider. "Kashi-chan!" Said boy smiled slightly underneath his mask as he nodded to the young girl. The two stopped in front of her as she raised a brow, immediately noticing the distress Guy was in.

"What are you doing to poor Guy?" Kakashi scoffed.

"We need your help!" the ninja in green exclaimed as Karibi raised a brow out of curiosity.

"Help with what?"

"Picking out a new challenge!" She should have known.

As Guy prattled on to the 10 year old, Kakashi looked back over his shoulder. He tried not to frown, the same chill from earlier creeping up his spine. He finally turned in the direction in which he felt a disturbance, and as he did so, Karibi took notice. She gazed at her older friend with confusion, seeing the tense gleam in his eye. She then pat Guy on the shoulder, who had finally stopped rambling before he looked back at Karibi and Kakashi.

And that was when it happened.

Out of an enormous cloud of smoke rose the Nine-tailed fox.

Everyone stopped what they were doing in order to gaze up in fear at the creature in the distance. A force from his chakra made some stumble, though the more experience ninja were able to at least stay on their feet. Kakashi stared with shock teeming from his eyes as Guy gapped before Karibi's breath hitched. She trembled as she stared with widened eyes, Kushina's words echoing in her head.

_There's something I want to teach you, for the future._

As Karibi gazed down at her hands, she then realized what the presence of the Kyuubi meant for Kushina.

"No!" Lurching forward, Karibi went to run towards the nine-tails. But as she did so, a figure appeared in front of her, blocking her path. "Kakashi, move!"

"I'm not letting you go," he stated evenly as he glanced over his shoulder, watching as the demon roared viciously with its head thrown back.

"I need to go!" Karibi shrieked as she tried to push past Kakashi. The Anbu held her back by grabbing her upper arms, but not wanting to actually hurt her, he merely did his best to keep her from going forward. He glanced to Guy, who quickly nodded, rushing behind the frantic girl and grabbing her by her shoulders.

"I said let me go!" she shouted as she began to fight against both of them; she was strong.

"Karibi, you have to calm down," Kakashi said sternly as he winced, the young girl shoving him back before she stepped firmly on Guy's foot. He yelled out in pain before the girl disappeared, and just as Kakashi shook his head and turned to rush after her, he stopped, a fellow jonin stopping him from going ahead.

"Gather in the guardroom now!" he commanded as Guy frowned.

"But—"

"Those were strict orders from the Sandaime, himself!" Hesitating, both boys glanced at each other before Kakashi relaxed, nodding his head.

"Hai."

§

She was running aimlessly. She wasn't sure where to look, but she had to try and find Kushina and Minato; they were in danger. Karibi ran from rooftop to rooftop before she stopped, nearing the Kyuubi and the damage he was causing. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the wild creature, watching as it swung one of its tails and slashed through a building, tearing it down completely. She glanced down at the streets, watching as the people screamed and ran while other shinobi tried to contain the beast. Without anyone noticing, the 10 year old jumped and continued forward, closer to the creature. She recited what Kushina had taught her in her head over-and-over again, but as she did that, she heard a soft cry in the distance.

"Mom! Dad!" The redhead stopped as she noticed a young boy around her age pushing past the retreating people. She stared intently at him, noticing his every feature; brown hair pulled up, scar over his nose, eyes welling up with tears. Her eyes widened when she took notice of how close they had somehow managed to get to the nine-tailed fox before she jumped down and shoved him out of the way of flying debris. They hit the ground together, the young boy coughing while Karibi quickly sat up, helping him to his feet.

"Hey! What's your name?" Karibi shouted out over the noise as the boy looked at her with shock.

"I—Iruka Umino."

"Iruka, what are you doing out here? The villagers were supposed to be evacuated," Karibi pointed out urgently as she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the Kyuubi, which was beginning to move further into the village.

"We have to go!" she shouted as she grabbed his wrist to pull him out of harm's way. She blinked when she stumbled back, the boy tugging his arm from her grasp and shaking his head.

"I have to find my parents!" he snapped as Karibi stared with wide eyes.

"It's too dangerous! If your parents are out here—"

"They're fighting that thing right now, and I have to help them!" he shouted as the redhead's eyes softened. She looked up at the demon fox as it screeched through the night, smashing everything in its path. Karibi shook her head as she tried to get the young boy to move.

"Please, we have to—" Karibi and Iruka screamed out when the fox's paw swung and tore through a building down the road. The roof broke into pieces, slabs of wood flying in every direction. The two quickly moved out of the way, but as they ran, the frantic boy fell over, a chunk of drywall colliding into the back of his head. He hit the ground with a hard thud, making Karibi stop in her tracks. She grimaced, quickly running back to his side and helping him back to his feet before another roar filled the night.

"Come on! Get back up!" she insisted as Iruka moaned, a small gash on his forehead. He stumbled to his feet, leaning against the young girl for support as she grunted, doing her best to keep him steady. "I'm going to get you out of here, ok?" she called out as Iruka merely grumbled, his head still spinning and the voices around him going in-and-out.

Stumbling down the street, screams rang out, Karibi doing her best to ignore them and the cries for help. Although she had originally gone out hoping to be some kind of help to Minato and Kushina, she couldn't pass up this young man, after all, he had been hoping to do the same thing for his parents. But that was when she had realized that this was no place for them. And so, she decided to try and drag him back, even if he was heavier than she expected.

"Whoa!" Karibi stumbled as Iruka's foot caught on something on the ground. They hit the ground, the 10 year old wincing as she knocked her head against cement. She kept her eyes squeezed shut as the sharp pain shot through her, her hold on Iruka loosening. She rubbed her head as she quickly tried to push past the pain, forcing herself back to her feet. "Iruka! I need you to work a little with me!" she shouted as she dragged her companion along.

With another howl to the moon, the fox let all of his tails do as they pleased, crushing all in their path. Karibi quickly jumped out of the way, carrying Iruka along with her. As she ran with him, the young boy began to slowly come to, blinking away the blurriness that was draped over his vision. He cringed, his head aching, but the warmth from beside him brought a bit of comfort to him.

§

"You _what_?" Hayase was livid. He was seeing red, and it was hard for him to really be aware of what exactly it was he was doing.

They had all been given strict orders. None of the younger generation of ninja were allowed to leave the designated area outside of the village. Seals had been placed around the clearing they had gathered in, keeping any sort of danger out for the time being. Many of the older jonin had already gone back out to the battlefield, leaving four jonin to keep guard of the younger shinobi. And although they were all safe from the chaos outside of the barrier, no one was truly safe from the chaos _inside_.

Hayase and Hana had been together when the village had turned into a mess. They had been eating dinner together, smiling and laughing together—as if it was just the two of them. Because, unknownst to Hayase, Hana had been keen on his feelings for her, and she happened to be rather pleased with that; she had been silently harboring her own feelings since after their first mission together as a team. As the two continued on their night out, the fox sprang up and began destroying their home. And before they could even react, they had been summoned and evacuated from the village.

And when they had discovered Karibi was still out there, Hayase had nearly lost it completely.

"Hayase, stop." Hana frowned as she tried to calm her teammate down, the young man glaring at Kakashi as he held him roughly by the straps of his flack jacket. He snarled at the 14 year old, not caring whether or not the gray haired ninja was part of the Anbu black ops or not.

"He just left her! He left her out there with the Nine-tailed fox running around and destroying the village!"

"Hayase, it wasn't—"

"Shut it, eyebrows!" Guy frowned at that.

Hayase glared menacingly at Kakashi, the more skilled one of the two staring with a cold look of his own eye. He remained calm, though it was beginning to become a bit more difficult; his head was thrumming with concern.

"Karibi isn't a pushover."

"Yeah, and she's also a 10 year old chunin!" Hayase exclaimed, the other people around them merely watching quietly, some trying to mind their own business and others eavesdropping without being noticed. "You think she stands a chance out there with that monster?!" Hayase shouted as Hana carefully pried his tight fist off from Kakashi's jacket.

"Hayase, it's not Kakashi's job to watch over Karibi like her guardian." But in some sense, it had been.

"Maybe not as her guardian, but as her friend!" the angry boy snapped as he glared at Kakashi, who stared hard right back to him. "She's obsessed with him! Never stops talking about how awesome he is and how I should be nicer to him! But you're exactly what I knew you would be!" Hayase said as he took a dangerous step closer, his face in Kakashi's face.

"You're just a guy willing to do what it takes to survive. Even if it means abandoning your friends." And, somewhere in Kakashi's head, there was a nerve—one, last nerve that suddenly snapped.

Without thought, Kakashi's expression remained blank and icy, but he was moving quickly. He clasped tightly to the collar of Hayase's shirt, shoving him hard into a tree, and as he did so, the chunin gasped, the wind being knocked from his chest. Hana's eyes widened as she nearly shouted out, the other adolescents watching with shock and fear.

"Oi! What's going on over there?!" a jonin shouted from a distance as he noticed the commotion from behind.

"Kakashi, let him go," Guy said nervously as said Anbu glared with his one eye, and although it was just his right eye, Hayase could nearly feel the rage and the hatred seeping through it.

"Kakashi, come on," Asuma added as he glanced over his shoulder, the jonin approaching them. The masked boy's fists trembled as he held Hayase against the tree, the 12 year old staring down at Kakashi; he was instantly regretting his words.

After a short second, Kakashi released Hayase, the chunin sliding down the tree and coughing. Hana quickly knelt down beside him with a frown. The 14 year old stared down at him silently, Hayase's words repeating in his head.

"What the hell is going on over here?"

"Nothing, sir!" Kurenai quickly said with a forced smile. The man glanced around the small group of what must have been quarreling friends before he hesitantly nodded, leaving it at that. He turned and quickly made his way back to his post, leaving them to whatever they had been doing.

Hayase felt himself coming down from his furious high, and as he relaxed he realized the blunder in his words. He frowned to himself as he looked up at Kakashi, the masked boy not once looking away from him. They stared at each other for a long moment before the silver haired ninja turned and began to walk away. Guy grimaced and quickly followed after his eternal rival, the others looking after Kakashi and Guy.

Leaving Karibi on her own hadn't been the plan. Kakashi would have gone after her had he not been stopped. And although he was skilled and could have easily evaded the jonin, he knew that it wasn't the right thing to do. The village was in danger and so were the people. Had he gone out there without any clue as to where Karibi was even headed, he would have just been causing more trouble for the others. Still, perhaps Hayase was right. He shouldn't have abandoned Karibi as he had done. He had vowed to himself that he would never make that same mistake again, and yet, here he was, reliving it all again. He had thought he was better than that. He thought he had been changed. He had truly believed in what Karibi said about him, but perhaps she was wrong.

"No." Kakashi suddenly turned and disappeared, catching Guy off guard. The boy in green blinked as he glanced around for his friend. He looked back to the others as they gapped, having no idea where exactly the Anbu had gone off to, but then, they all had an idea as to where he had gone.

Hayase blinked before he sighed. "Looks like I was wrong about him."

§

"Iruka! You still with me?" Karibi had nearly made it to the outskirts of the village. She had carried Iruka all the way herself. She could have easily asked for assistance from a fellow jonin, but everyone had their hands full. The village was still being evacuated and there were ninja dying left and right in order to keep the fox demon from getting any closer to village.

"M—My parents," the young boy muttered as he pried his eyes open, finally getting some semblance of control back in his body.

"For now, we have to get you out of here. And then, I promise! I'll ask someone to look for your parents!" Karibi insisted; she was better off than Iruka was. The young boy blinked with a surprised expression as he looked up to the girl who had saved him.

"Y—You'd do that?"

"Of course! It's a ninja's duty to protect the people and—" Karibi's statement had been cut off, tremors from the ground causing both kids to blink as they looked down to their feet. The earth began to grumble as the ground shook, and as it did so, a building to their right began to crumble from lack of support. Karibi's eyes widened as she began running, Iruka staring up with wide eyes.

"We have to go faster!" she shouted as she held tightly to his hand now, but even as she ran, she had a feeling they wouldn't make it.

That is, until someone else appeared.

"Karibi!" Said girl looked back and began to grin, a woman using all of her strength to hold up a piece of the wall that had nearly crushed them.

"Riku-sensei!" The jonin panted as she winced, her chest aching and her arms and legs burning. She had been out with the others, doing her best to keep the fox demon contained, but things hadn't been going well.

"What are you doing out here?!" the woman shouted as she threw the chunk of wall away from her student, quickly approaching her and kneeling down before her and another boy. "You were all supposed to be evacuated!"

"I know! But I need to help him!" Karibi explained as Riku looked over at Iruka. She eyed the boy for moment, recognizing her features.

"You both need to get out of here, it isn't safe!"

"But my parents!"

"No buts! I'm taking both of you out of the village!" Riku snapped as she grabbed Iruka, who began to fight against her strength; even in her weakened state, he was no match for her.

"No! You can't take me!" he shouted as Riku frowned, doing her best to keep the squirming boy in control.

"Alright, Kari—" Riku's eyes widened when she found the girl gone. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes widened. She began to look around frantically. "Karibi!"

* * *

><p><strong>The time has finally come :( The Nine-tails has arrived and with that, we all know how this goes. We'll just have to see what exactly is in store for Karibi and the village. It's going to be a <em>very <em> bumpy road for Karibi as well as several other characters. Not going to say much else, but from here on out, it's going to be an uphill battle. But all good things come in the end! And there will be a lot of growth and a lot of struggling, so hopefully it will be interesting for whoever decides to read on! **

**Per usual, thank you for reading, following and favoriting as well as reviewing! I truly appreciate you all taking the time to read and support this story and my hard work :) **

**Reviews: **

**Juliedoo: **Yeah, it is really sad :\ But, as many people say, it gets hard before it gets easy...unfortunately for Kakashi and Karibi, it just gets SUPER hard before it gets easy LOL But who knows! The future might be a bright one for them ;D Thank you for reading and thank you so very much for the review! I hope you continue to enjoy this story and I hope that my hard work will pull through and keep your attention!

**Kit: **No, there isn't any action between Naruto and Karibi yet because yes, Kushina is still pregnant. Unfortunately, she doesn't give birth until now. So obviously there will not be any action between Naruto and Karibi until later on. I am also keeping to the timeline of this story matched with _Naruto_, as I've mentioned before, so major things that happen in the series that are important to the plot will remain as is. This story isn't really about changing what happens, but about taking what happens and doing what you can with the circumstances that you're given. I already have this story mapped out and what I want to do with it. Thanks for your suggestions though! Thanks for reading.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Thirteen_

She just needed one thing. After witnessing all the destruction around her, Karibi knew now was not the time to be a hero. She was going to put her trust into Minato and Kushina and hope for the best. But before she returned and evacuated the village, she needed just one thing.

Shoving the door to her home open, the girl was a bit flustered. It was eerie to see her home still in perfect shape although everywhere else around her was falling apart. Quickly gaining back her attention, the young girl began to venture further into her home.

"Kushito! Come out, Kushito!" she called out gently, though her voice was shaking. She tried to keep smiling, though her eyes were beginning to well up with tears, blurring her vision. "Kushito! Please! Now's not the time for hide-and-seek!" she called out desperately as she quickly ventured into her room. She swung her bedroom door open, but as the door creaked, Karibi stopped, her eyes wide.

There, in her room, was a man in black.

"Ah. So you've come back for him?" In his arms, was Kushito, meowing and purring as the stranger pet him. Karibi watched the intruder with her jaw slightly ajar and her body tense. She said nothing as he stared at the window through his one-eyed mask. Slowly, he turned his head in her direction as she remained frozen.

"...Who are you?"she asked, her voice as stony as she could possibly make it. She glared at him, any sign of fear or apprehension gone; when someone threatened her loved ones—that was when she truly found her strength.

"I've come to see if the rumors are true. And they are! Another living member of the Uzumaki clan," the stranger with a deep voice stated evenly. "Your people have long since been gone, but there are a few who remain. You and the jinchuriki included." At the mention of Kushina, Karibi growled.

"Are you the one who did this? Are you the one that let the nine-tailed fox free?"

"Sharp for your age. How old are you?" Karibi remained silent. "From what he says, you're young." The redhead blinked at that.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Why, who else?" the stranger asked as he bent over and let Karibi's cat go. She watched stiffly as Kushito made his way towards her, rubbing against her leg in a loving manner. "He rarely speaks, but when he does, he only ever has good things to say about you." And it made him **_sick_**.

For he followed Kakashi closely, and when he visited the graves of Rin and Obito he would always mention Karibi at least once each visit.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this? What have you done with Minato-niichan and Kushina-neechan?" Karibi glared as she quickly scooped her cat up into her arms, the man's laughter bellowing out. He shook his head as he sighed and stood up tall.

"In time, child." A chill coursed down Karibi's back; he wasn't just stating a fact, he was _t__hreatening _her.

Without a thought, Karibi turned and began to run. She sprinted for the door, but her eyes widened when the intruder suddenly appeared before her. She gasped but acted quickly, pulling her arms up in front of her face and crossing them to form an "X", Kushito landing gracefully on the ground. She gritted her teeth as a foot pressed hard against her arms, originally aimed for her face. And with a cry, the 10 year old flew back and out the window. She winced as shards of glass poked into her side and her leg, her head spinning and her breath gone. She vaguely remembered hearing footsteps before she forced her eyes open and looked up.

And then, all she saw was red.

§

He was concentrating hard. With everything going on and the overwhelming power of the Nine Tails, it was hard for Kakashi to precisely pinpoint where exactly Karibi's chakra was coming from. Still, he wouldn't even entertain the thought of giving up and turning back. So he continued on his search. He was quick and graceful, not stopping once for anything. He was heading straight for Karibi's home; he'd start there.

Upon arriving, Kakashi landed on the roof, and he took a moment to gaze out at the village. His heart sank at the destruction and the chaos. Homes were burning, crushed—people were screaming for help, and ninjas were falling. His eye trailed up to the Nine-tailed fox, and he watched as the creature let out a feral roar; he felt true fear in that moment.

_Meow_. The ANBU blinked as he heard the soft coo of a cat. Recognizing the pitch and the exact way the cat mewled, Kakashi quickly ran over and hopped down from the roof. He landed on the metal platform and his eye widened as he found Karibi lying on the floor with her cat standing by her side.

"Karibi!" He knelt down at her side, calmly examining her body. Her clothes were slightly torn and there was glass everywhere; how did she end up going through the window? Not lingering too long on the question, Kakashi quickly began tending to her wounds, Kushito watching him all the while. Although the pieces of glass were small and thin, they dug deep into Karibi's body; he needed to get help for her quickly.

"Hold on," the 14 year old whispered as he quickly pulled out a roll of bandages from his pouch, wrapping her leg.

"K—Kakashi?" He had come back for her. She hadn't been expecting him to nor had she asked him to, but he had. He had broken whatever rules she knew had probably been given to him, and he came out to see her and help her; that had meant the world to Karibi.

The 10 year old winced as she began to open her eyes, her hearing returning and her tunnel vision widening. She hissed from pain, her senses hyper-aware of every move and every itch and every sharp jab she had in her body. She glanced up and watched as her friend stopped, looking down at her with a wide eye.

"Karibi, it's going to be ok," he assured as he moved quickly, the young girl wheezing as she let her head fall back to the floor. She gazed at the village from where she was lying, the Nine-tail's shadow haunting her.

"Hey! Don't fall asleep on me." The young girl blinked several times, having not noticed that she had closed her eyes in the first place.

"Kakashi, don't forget," she muttered as her friend scooped her carefully into his arms. He held her carefully as he raised a brow.

"Forget what?"

"K—Kushito." The masked ninja chuckled as he looked down at the cat, who was nibbling at his toes.

"Right."

§

She was numb. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but her body was beginning to lose all feeling completely.

Kushina tried to open her eyes but had no strength to do so. Her body was heavy and her breathing was quiet and shallow; she could feel the life drifting from her soul. As she lied on the ground, she could begin to hear voices, but then, there was just one voice that stuck out to her the most.

_Kushina-neechan! _The dying woman pried her eyes open, watching through a haze as Hiruzen jumped out from the demolished trees, landing at her side. She smiled as best as she could, wincing as a ninja appeared on her other side, covering her with a blanket and helping her sit up. Her eyes roamed over to her left before what was left of her heart shattered; lying cold and pale was Minato.

But there was a small smile upon his face.

"Take her to the Konoha hospital! And summon medical nin." There was no saving her, Kushina already knew that. But there was still unfinished business she had before she closed her eyes.

"Lord Third," Kushina whispered as she watched the Third Hokage carefully pick up her newborn son, cradling him in his arms.

"Kushina."

"P—Please," Kushina weakly said. "Take care...of my child." Hiruzen nodded his head with a determined gleam in his eyes.

"Of course. There's no need to ask."

"H—His name, it's N—Naruto." The dying mother smiled at that. "Minato and I—we picked it out from Jiraiya-sensei's book," she explained as she recalled the time her husband's former teacher had come to visit them. She smiled as she closed her eyes.

"Please...Please take care of Naruto and Karibi." Hiruzen nodded his head as he looked down at the blond baby in his arms.

"I will take full responsibility for the both of them. So for their sake, please just rest." But it was too late.

Kushina let her eyes fall shut, and as she felt herself drift into darkness, she heard that voice once more.

_Kushina-neechan! _There, in the distance was a bright light, and two shadows waiting for her. She blinked, glancing around to find that she was standing in an abyss of nothingness. She looked back to the light and watched as a shorter figure waved to her, and her lips curved upward.

There, standing ahead of her, were Karibi and Minato.

§

_My head...ugh...and my throat. _She was so thirsty.

Forcing her eyes open, Karibi winced as she glanced around with a deep frown. She was staring up at a white ceiling, a florescent light hanging above her head. She coughed several times, her throat burning, and as she aimlessly reached her hand out for something, it was met with a cold glass.

"Awake?" The 10 year old looked to her right before she smiled, Hana at her side with a sweet smile.

"H—Hana—"

"Drink first," the older girl said as Karibi nodded before sitting up and wincing. She pressed the rim of the glass to her lips and relished in the way the water seemed to cool her throat down, like a cold shower on a hot day.

"Where am I? What happened?"

"Konoha hospital. Some parts of the village were left untouched by the Kyuubi." And then, it hit Karibi.

"What happened to Minato and Kushina? And how was the Nine-tails defeated?" the redhead asked urgently, and immediately, Hana's expression darkened. The youngest of Team 2 blinked, quickly taking note of her teammate's solemn stare before the older girl turned her back to her. "H—Hana?"

"Ah, I see you're finally awake." Karibi and Hana turned to the door, the Third Hokage walking in with a smile across his face. The 12 year old quickly bowed as Karibi frowned, trying to stand to her feet.

"Hokage-sama—"

"Sit. You need rest," Hiruzen said gently as the little girl hesitated before doing as told. The old man looked over to Hana, who nodded before looking back at Karibi with a smile. She then headed out the door, hesitating in the doorway before she walked out and quietly shut the door.

"Do you remember what happened that put you in your current condition?" the Third asked as he stood at Karibi's bedside. The young girl shook her head as she tried to think.

"I went to search for Kushito and then..." She vaguely remembered a voice, and she vaguely recalled the color red, but for whatever reasons she did not know. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I can't remember."

"It's alright. You're safe now, and that's what matters," he said as he nodded his head before walking around her bed and standing in front of the window.

"...The village has suffered greatly from the Kyuubi attack. Many lives have been lost protecting the people," he began slowly, a knot forming in Karibi's throat and gut. "...Karibi, there is something I must tell you."

§

Hana approached Hayase in the lobby as he quickly sat up from his seat. He gazed at his teammate as she smiled weakly. "Karibi's finally awake." A wide smile crossed the young man's lips.

"That's great!"

"...Hokage-sama has gone in to talk to her..." That made Hayase's bright expression drop.

"We should be there for her."

"She needs to finish talking with him first."

"But—"

_Meow. _The pair stopped their conversation as they looked down, a white cat approaching them. They blinked as it sat between them, licking its paw before it turned its attention up to them.

"Kushito?"

"How is she?" The two looked to the entrance of the hospital and their gazes softened as the masked 14 year old walked in after the cat; he had been taking care of him since Karibi had been in the hospital.

"She's finally awake," Hana said quietly, Hayase avoiding the ANBU's single gaze. Kakashi nodded in return as he looked down at the white cat, who was now nibbling at his toes again. He tried to smile, but his muscles seemed to be permanently stuck in a frowning position.

"Could you make sure he gets back to her?" The silver haired ninja asked as Hana nodded, Hayase slowly looking up to meet Kakashi's eye. The ANBU said nothing before he turned and began to walk away. And as Hana began to make her way back to Karibi's room, Hayase took a step towards Kakashi.

"Hey." The 14 year old stopped, but didn't look back. "...I'm sorry." Hayase watched as Kakashi stood with his hands in his pant pockets for a moment. The boy slowly turned to look back at him, the cold stare he remembered seeing now replaced with a forlorn sort of gleam. Kakashi said nothing, but he didn't have to; Hayase seemed to understand without him having to say a thing.

And then, Kakashi was out the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas and happy holidays! I know that it's a fun and festive time a year, so I apologize for the rather depressing chapter update LOL unfortunately from here, the struggling begins. Now that Kushina and Minato are gone, things are going to change drastically for Karibi. But we'll have to see just how exactly everything eventually works out for her and Naruto! <strong>

**Hope everyone's having a safe holiday and I hope you are all having a wonderful time doing whatever you're doing :) Thank you for reading and thank you for following and favoriting! Think of this little update as a gift from me to whoever is reading! It's not much, but I've put lots of effort into this chapter and the story as a whole, so I hope that helps and I hope you enjoy reading this! I hope this chapter is enjoyable and I will continue to focus and work hard! **

**Thanks again!**

**Reviews: **

**earendil18: **Karibi will not be taking care of Naruto initially. She's too young to be taking care of another person without a guardian of her own, so there is going to be some time in between before she becomes Naruto's official guardian. I can confidently say that those two will be uniting after a couple of chapters! Sorry that it's been taking so long to get to those two. There's a lot of building up that I wanted to get through. Hopefully you'll be able to push through and stick around to make it the time they actually are together! Thank you for reading, and if you have any other questions at all, please feel free to ask me! I'm happy to help :) Thank you again!

**Juliedoo: **Thank you again for the review! I'm so happy to see you're reading and (hopefully) enjoying the posts! I'm doing my best to convey certain emotions through the way I write the story and the way it's set up, so I'm happy to see you caught on to that small detail. It's not perfect, but I'm working hard on it so hopefully reading will be more interesting and more depth to emotions will be felt! I thought it would be a cool way to tie in other characters that aren't necessarily related to Kushina or Minato or Kakashi. I also happen to really like Iruka's character in the manga/anime and I think it's a shame he isn't more involved so sticking him in that chapter was something I thought would be nice :) Once again, thank you for the review and I hope you will continue to read and enjoy!

**KF: **Hi there! Glad to see that you like the story and the outline of it. I'm also relieved to hear that you like how Karibi's been developing as a character thus far. I will say that from here on out, her development will be taking a sharp turn in a different direction. There are going to be a lot of things that lie in her path that she's going to have to overcome, and it's all going to play a large part of how she becomes the person she is and how she interacts with Naruto when the time comes! I'm also relieved that you like how Kakashi and Karibi are working out together. I know they're not really romantic just yet, but I didn't want them to be straight off the bat. It just wouldn't make sense to either character or the story. I'll admit, it's a slow cooker, but things are cooking and things are moving forward! Promise! Thank you so much for the review and thank you for the support. I promise, I'll work hard for the future chapters to come and I hope that you will stick around and read and enjoy. Thanks again!

**Kit: **I stated this in the very first chapter of the story I believe, but this is eventually going to be a Kakashi/OC (Karibi) story. If you don't like that then I suggest you stop reading from here, just because you may not enjoy what's to come. But I suppose that's just up to you. I didn't go into much detail as to what exactly happened with Kushina and the sealing of the Nine-tails inside Naruto. Whatever happened in the manga/anime is the way I'm going to keep things going because I'm not really focusing a lot on what happened or how it happened, but the aftermath and how the event changed lives and people. Anyways, thanks for reading.

**Guest: **Hello there! I'm sincerely flattered that you like the original-ness of this story! I'm actually not sure if anyone has or has not tried this idea, but it was just something I thought about and decided to try my hand at. I've put lots of effort and lots of time into this story, so I hope that it all shows through the plot and the writing! And no, I don't think any story with Kakashi can really be _sappy_. That just doesn't seem to fit his character well LOL But hey, who knows. Kakashi's full of surprises and there are great writers who could pull it off. For Kakashi and Karibi, I wanted to focus not on the growing relationship but the growing bond and trust of two people who just understand what it's like to hurt and feel pain and lose things that are important to them. Hopefully that also shows! Yes! Naruto is definitely coming...have a few more chapters until he comes, but I know exactly how and when it's going to happen, so just you wait! It's going to be great, hopefully XD Thank you for reading and thank you for the review! I hope you have a happy holiday as well and I hope you will read and enjoy future chapters :) Thanks again!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or events that are affiliated with Naruto/Naruto Shippuden**

_Chapter Fourteen_

_I'm afraid I have terrible news...Minato and Kushina_—

Karibi's eyes snapped open as she gasped choking for air. She was in a cold sweat, and her heart was racing. She clutched to her chest as she trembled—fear, anxiety, and most of all _rage _coursing through her veins.

When Hiruzen had first told her the terrible news, she had cried. She couldn't stop the tears. The moment Hiruzen had said that Minato and Kushina had died in the attack, there was no stopping her. At first, she was hysterical. She was screaming and trying to run, and to where, she didn't know. She just had to get away. But after the first day the screaming and crying stopped.

There was just nothing.

"Karibi?" the 10 year old looked over to the door, Hayase standing there with a worried look.

She was stuck in the hospital for a few days. She had taken a mighty blow to the head and lost a large chunk of blood, and not only that, but Hiruzen had found that someone had tampered with her memory using jutsu; a Sharingan. He had advised her to stay at the hospital for a few more days—just until the funeral, and then she would be free to return to her home.

But what did it matter? There was no there waiting anymore.

"Hayase." Said boy winced; Karibi never used his full name.

"You ok? I heard you," he said gently as he stepped into the dim room.

He and Hana had been taking shifts, watching over their friend. Seeing as the village was mostly a total wreck, many people were doing their part, trying to put the pieces back together. Hana's family had been working on trying to locate the person responsible behind the attack with their nin dogs, and while they were doing that, Hana spent time watching her brother and keeping an eye on Karibi at the hospital. And while she was doing that, Hayase helped Riku-sensei and other ninja with organizing where people without homes were to stay for the time being. With all the damage that had been done by the fox demon, all normal missions for the shinobi had been put on hold; first thing that they needed to focus on was recovering.

Currently, Hayase was spending the night keeping a close eye on Karibi. It seemed she was having nightmares, but it was hard to say; she didn't talk to anyone. Since she had discovered the news about her guardians, she had shut herself off. Other than the initial shock, she showed no emotions to anyone, ever. She had even had several visits from Guy, Kurenai and even Asuma. They had all come to see her just to check on her, but she never said a word. She would merely stare out into space.

But who could blame her?

Hayase waited for a moment before Karibi turned her head, staring out at the night sky. "I'm fine."

"...Karibi—"

"I have to go to the bathroom," she abruptly stated, catching Hayase off guard. He blushed before nodding his head, turning to head out of the room.

"If you need me I'll be just out here," he said as Karibi stood to her feet, not even bothering to reply. Her teammate frowned but said nothing else before he shut the door.

Waiting for only a second, Karibi then quickly sprinted into the bathroom before she slammed the door shut. She flicked the light on and panted, pressing her back against the door before she lurched forward, hanging her head in the toilet. She proceeded to empty whatever was in her stomach—which wasn't that much to begin with—before she weakly stood to her feet, rinsing her mouth with sink water. She lingered over the sink as she stared down at the white porcelain top before she slowly looked up to face her reflection.

_Kushina has asked me to watch over you and Naruto. And I will do that. You shall be under my custody for the time being. _

She had had the baby; Kushina had given birth to Naruto.

Gripping tightly to the sink, a sudden waft of fury began to consume Karibi. She began to snarl at herself before she pulled her fist back to punch the mirror. Before her fist could make contact with the glass, a hand tightly wrapped around her wrist, holding her back. She screeched, her mind too distracted by her fury to take notice as to who it was in the mirror holding her back. She began to jerk and scream before she was roughly span around.

And then, she was asleep.

He couldn't face her. He wasn't ready to. There were still too many voices and emotions in his head that were making him weary. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be there for her—watching over her and protecting her. He had made a promise to Minato-sensei long ago, and even though that man was long gone, he was going to keep that promise. He would protect Karibi.

That was a promise Kakashi would give his life to keep.

He had been watching her from the shadows. He was well aware of her mental state, and from what he had overheard the Third saying, she had shut down completely. She hadn't cried, not since the first time she had heard about Minato and Kushina's death. So, Kakashi had taken it upon himself to make sure she was doing alright. He remained sightless from people and especially the young girl herself. He wasn't quite prepared to speak with her, but he wasn't going to abandon her. Because she had helped him. She had helped him through the toughest of times, and now he was going to take it upon himself to do the same for her.

He had spent his days transformed into a bird outside of her window, and during the nights when he could take refuge into the darkness, he sat in a tree, keeping an eye on her and gazing up at the moon. The last four days had been harmless. She remained silent and calm, sitting in bed and merely staring out the window. Every so often her gaze would land on him in his transformed figure, but she wouldn't linger too long. It was the night that seemed to shake Karibi. She hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since she had awoken from the Kyuubi attack. She squirmed and turned, huffing and puffing before finally she'd merely stay up until the sun rose. And whatever sleep she had, it was haunted by her memories of Minato and Kushina.

Kakashi could relate to that.

On that night, the Anbu had been sitting patiently as he always did. He'd been staring up at the stars, feeling a bit empty, though he did his best to try and fight off the sorrow; he had gotten so far from where he was when Rin had died—he didn't want to revert back to who that was. As he star-gazed, his ears twitched, the sound of Karibi squirming in her sleep fully catching his attention. The masked 14 year old stood to his feet as he walked to the tip of the branch, staring quietly through the window as Karibi finally gasped, sitting up. He then watched as Hayase quickly entered the room. A few words had been exchanged, and then the 12 year old was out the door. But as soon as he was gone, Karibi was running into the bathroom.

At first, Kakashi had decided that he would wait where he always did until she came out. But then, five minutes had passed and she still hadn't emerged from the bathroom. The ninja forced himself to wait another five minutes before he decided that enough had been enough. He silently jumped from the tree and to the wall of the hospital, landing without a sound. He then pulled the window up from his perpendicular angle before he slid into the room with grace. His feet softly tapped against the floor as he landed inside, and with precision and care, the young man began to make his way to the bathroom door.

Pressing his ear to the door, he listened carefully. Whatever Karibi was doing, she was doing it quietly. And then he heard the sound of running water. He relaxed after a moment, turning to walk back to the window, but he stopped when the water continued to run, and then he could hear her growling.

Not bothering to wait, Kakashi flung the door open, Karibi's fist pulled back and a menacing expression on her face. He acted quickly, grabbing the girl's wrist and stopping her from hurting her hand and breaking the mirror. And with a swift motion, the Anbu pulled his hitai-ae up from his Sharingan eye. Instantly, Karibi was fast asleep in his arms, and whatever anger she had upon her face had been erased.

He hadn't seen such a relaxed and _normal _expression on the 10 year old's features since before the Kyuubi attack. Now, when he stared at her, all he saw was an empty shell, a hollow Karibi. And it was frightening. Because he had been there. He had been in Karibi's place, and dealing with the inner-turmoil alone and holding in all those emotions and feelings—it had been truly killing him. And now, she was doing it to herself. But unlike Karibi, Kakashi didn't have the strength to carry them both. She had been able to soothe him and comfort him out of the pain he felt, but he was not like her. He didn't have the strength or the faith in himself to do it. So, the best he could do was play the part of her guardian angel. Still, he knew that someday, that wouldn't be enough.

And that was the most terrifying thing to him.

"...I'm sorry," Kakashi whispered as he tucked Karibi back into her bed. He shook his head as he stared at her before he turned and began to make his way back to the window.

After the funeral, all would be back to normal—for the most part. Shinobi would be back to their missions, and those designated to work on the reconstruction of the village would continue. As for Kakashi, he would pick up his duties as an Anbu member and go on with his life. But until that moment—until the day of mourning for the last Hokage and his wife and all of the ninja who had given their lives to protect the village, Kakashi would stay right by Karibi's side.

*_One Week Later_*

"Minato, Kushina. You both gave your lives to protect the Hidden Leaf Village and its future." Everyone listened silently as the Third spoke, his words true and pure.

The funeral had finally come. Everyone had come to pay their respects the heroes of the village.

Including Karibi.

She had finally been released from the hospital, and although Hiruzen had said that they had been keeping her their for her own safety, the 10 year old had a feeling that it had actually been so they could monitor her psychologically. But she didn't care. She cared about very little anymore.

She had been changed.

Staring with an empty look in her eyes, Karibi stood in line with the rest of her comrades, some of them staring sorrowfully at the photos of the Fourth and his wife, and others glancing at her out of sympathy and curiosity. And she could feel their eyes on her. She could feel their wonderment and their judgment. But she still couldn't seem to find the will to care.

None at all.

"What you've done for the village—no one shall ever forget. Stories will be told of your bravery and of your loyalty and your love for the village. And may it live on within all of us...your will of fire." Karibi shut her eyes at the Third Hokage's words before people began to walk up in a line to place flowers on the table in front of the photos of all the shinobi who had been lost. The young girl felt a lump form in her throat as her turn slowly approached. She gripped tightly to the stem of the flower, looking up at the dark sky; the grayness of the clouds and the blackness of everyone's clothes matched well.

An eye watched Karibi carefully as she stepped forward, waiting behind five other people for her turn. She didn't seem to notice Kakashi's gaze, but he didn't bother trying to make it known to her. She hadn't said a word to anyone when she had arrived at the funeral with Hana and Hayase. Her teammates had warned everyone of this, and Kakashi wasn't bitter, for he understood completely. So he would give her the time she needed—give _himself _the time he needed.

Finally, Karibi's turn came. Everyone was silent as they watched the 10 year old slowly walk up to the table. Her hands began to tremble, though her face was void of any sort of emotion. She stopped in front of the pile of flowers and she clenched her jaw shut, and after a moment, her vision began to blur. She quickly closed her eyes, fighting off the urge to release a sob before she carefully placed her flower on top of the others. She stared at them for a moment before she looked up at the photos of a smiling Minato and Kushina.

Never again would she see their happy expression.

After one last second, Karibi slowly began to walk away, but instead of rejoining the line, she quickly walked up to the metal railing. The Third watched her carefully as she hopped up and then jumped into the air, disappearing from sight. He gazed after her for a second longer before his eyes wandered towards the only other person who had been watching Karibi ever-so-closely.

Kakashi said nothing as he stared after Karibi. His one eye looked in her direction even after she had disappeared, and even when it was his turn to move in line, he almost didn't look away. But Guy had helped guide him up until his attention was finally where it needed to be. The 14 year old then stopped in front of the table as he bowed his head, saying a soft prayer in his head. He then placed the flower down and looked up at the pictures before he nodded.

_Kushina-san, Minato-sensei, don't worry. I'll take care of Karibi. _

§

She hadn't imagined everything to look so normal and so perfect. Karibi's home had been left unscathed by the nine-tails, and upon entering, the only damage that had been left was her window. The young girl slowly approached the broken glass as she stared down at it, trying to remember exactly what had happened when she had went to pick up Kushito. She frowned from the lack of memories, but didn't linger too much on it as she turned and stared at her home.

It was as if there had been no attack. All the pictures had remained where they were originally placed, no furniture had been ruined. The walls hadn't even chipped. Nothing had changed.

But everything was different.

Slowly, Karibi ventured towards the door to her right before she stopped. It was shut, and although she wanted to go inside, she couldn't seem to will herself to twist the door knob and go in. Instead, she stood in front of the door for what felt like hours, gazing down at the knob she was too afraid to even touch.

She was alone. This was it. This was her life now. There was no more laughing, there was no more smiling, no more nights out in the village for barbeque and ramen and riceballs. For her family had left her behind once more. Only this time, she wasn't sure how she was going to pick up the pieces. For when she had first been given away by her parents, she had just given up. She had come to terms with what was going to happen to her. But then she had been saved. Minato had broken her free and he had shown her kindness that she had almost forgotten about after being stuck in her wooden cage for over a year. And Kushina, she had shown the little girl how to laugh and smile and appreciate the world again. She had taught her how to look at the darkness of the world and laugh at it. But now that the time had come to use what she had been taught, she couldn't seem to recall anything. All she knew was the chill she felt and the utter silence around her.

And for the first time since almost two weeks ago, Karibi finally cried.

Her sobs were painful. They racked through her like a hurricane. She had lost the strength to stand, and so she fell to her knees, not even feeling the pain of her knee caps against the hardwood floor. She pressed her hands against the shut door and shook her head as she wept, knocking her forehead against the wood one time before she squeezed her eyes shut and cringed into herself. She shivered as she felt a cool breeze roll in through the destroyed window, and as she cried uncontrollably to herself, she never noticed the person standing outside by the window, mourning with her.

Kakashi pressed himself against the wall outside, glancing down at the floor, all the glass now cleaned up and gone. He listened as Karibi cried to herself, and he could almost feel her gasps through his own body. He closed his visible eye and leaned his head back against the wall, his hands balling up into fists.

The world truly was a cruel and unfair place.

*_Four Days Later_*

He had seen Karibi off. He hadn't made his presence known to her, and normally he would have assumed she knew he was there, but lately, he wasn't sure if she was even aware of where she was half the time. She had been moping around in her room for the last few days. She hadn't eaten, rarely slept, the only thing she did was lay in her bed and pet Kushito as he comforted her in the only way he could. And after a few hours of watching her, Kakashi finally willed himself to leave and clear his head.

He needed to think.

Making his way to the cemetery, the Anbu gazed out at the headstones. His eye softened when he approached Rin's grave, but as he gazed down, he couldn't find the words to say or the urge to speak, so he turned and walked away. He stopped in front of the monument at the front of the cemetery, and as he stared up at it, he wondered just how long it would be until the Third gave him a new mission. Now that Minato was gone, Hiruzen had been reappointed Hokage. And although the man was doing his best to reintroduce structure to the village, there were just some who weren't ready.

Kakashi included.

Sensing another person, the 14 year old looked over his shoulder. He met the gaze of a stranger, part of his face bandaged and covered up. He wore a greenish blue kimono with a light blue haori underneath.

It was the first time Kakashi was meeting Danzo in-person for the first time. "Kakashi Hatake, isn't that right?"

"Danzo-sama..." Kakashi wasn't sure what he owed for this visit.

"I'm here to ask you one thing and one thing only," the dark haired man asked, his bandaged eye mirroring Kakashi's masked one. "Come and work under me."

"But...I was Minato-sensei's—"

"Regretfully, the man who first recruited you into the Anbu is no longer with us," he said gently as Kakashi tried not to wince at the harsh truth. "If you continue with what you're doing, you will end up working for the Third Hokage," Danzo explained as Kakashi listened carefully.

"It was _his _foolhardy and weak ideals of peace that dragged the Third Shinobi War on and drove Obito and Rin to their deaths." Kakashi's eyes widened at that as he felt a stab in his chest.

"That's not—"

"Not only that, but on the night of the Kyuubi's attack, you were unable to join in the battle because of the Third Hokage's orders...Isn't that _why _Minato lost his life?" Kakashi felt a heavy weight on his shoulders as he stared down at the ground. "...Isn't that why Karibi lost her family?" And that was what had tipped Kakashi over the edge.

"I don't want to believe that he planned this to return to power, but either way, the future of the Hidden Leaf cannot be trusted to someone like him." And as Danzo began to walk away, he left Kakashi with his words buzzing in his head.

_Isn't that why Karibi lost her family?_

§

He had returned to Karibi's home like he had originally planned, but all the while, Danzo's words continued to plague him. The repeated over-and-over in his head like a mantra, never stopping—even to let him think.

Landing on the railing outside, Kakashi stopped as he gazed in through the window of Karibi's bedroom. His eyes widened as he found Karibi sitting up with her knees pulled close to her chest. Her face was hidden away in her knees and arms, but he could see her shaking; she was crying again.

How many times did Kakashi have to watch her cry while he could do nothing for her? How many times was she going to have to live through losing the people she loved dearly? How many times was Kakashi going to lose comrades and loved ones? And why Karibi? Why did it have to be sincere, thoughtful, honest, caring Karibi?

Within seconds, a fury Kakashi hadn't even known existed burst inside of him.

He turned as he glared up to the sky, hands forming fists. He shook his head as he repeated Danzo's words in his mind.

All along he had been searching for the reasons why this had all happened—why Karibi was suffering, and now, he had his answer.

Whatever it took, Kakashi was going to make sure the Third paid for everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy New Year! Yes, I am a day late, but I suppose it's the thought that counts :D I hope everyone had a great holiday and good luck to all in this new year!<strong>

**Yes, Kushina and Minato are now gone :( For the next few chapters, I will say that things will get a bit angsty and sad. After all, Karibi just lost her family. We'll have to see how exactly she deals with her loss and what is in store for her next! **

**Thank you for reading! I appreciate everyone who's taken the time to read and review and who's gotten to this point in the story! I hope you've all enjoyed and I will continue to work hard on this story! Let me know what you think through any means! **

**Reviews: **

**Apollo Child1512: **Yes, I may not have been so sneaky about who exactly it was that gave Karibi a visit XD I always wonder what life would have been like if he hadn't done what he had done...guess we'll never really know -_- I'm glad you enjoyed that last chapter! And thank you for reading! I appreciate you doing so, and I hope that you have been enjoying this story. Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy! Also, be prepared for more feels, because like I said above, it's going to go a bit down from here...but we'll see! Thanks for reading :)

**Kit: **I won't say for sure how exactly things with Naruto and Karibi and everyone else is going to go, but I will say that there will be some training involved someday! Who knows. As for Iruka, his interactions with Naruto will be a little different in the future with Karibi in the picture. In what ways exactly, I won't say, but it won't be exactly the same. If you want to keep reading, feel free to! I appreciate you taking the time to do so.


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